Handmade Purse Secrets

I am making handmade purses for the upcoming craft fair and have decided my next project will be a whimsical handmade purse.  What’s a whimsical handmade purse, you ask?  What comes to my mind is something fun, cute and fanciful.  Perhaps a princess would carry such cute purses.  To get a clearer picture in my mind I spend several hours getting lost between sites like Mary Frances Collection, which is full of fabulous whimsical inspiration. and tutorials like Threads Magazine’s posting of a drawstring bag, which is where I find the style of purse and the pattern I want. 

Now I have a somewhat clearer vision of my whimsical handmade purse in my head.  Since I make my bags from recycled fabric, I check my stash and find some drapery fabric that has the right weight and body but it’s white — pretty and may work but I keep looking.  Next I find a blouse, it’s black with kind of an oriental pattern on it, that will work with the pattern but it’s not going to quite give me the whimsical style I’m looking for.  I think I’ll go with the white and add some sort of embellishments to fancy it up. 

For embellishments I have a little trouble locating anything that I like in my stash so off to the dollar store I go.  I come home with several things I can use, a toddler’s tutu made out of blue netting with sparkles on it, a couple of doll clothes accessories that have boas attached, some plastic butterflies, some silk flowers and a sheer purple polyester camisole.  I decide that I will make the outside of the purse from the tutu and line it with the white fabric, perhaps adding a butterfly or two on the outside or maybe between the layers.  I’ll save the camisole, boas and flowers for another pattern I found.  Stay tuned and I will post my results soon.  In the meantime, you can check out my other handmade purses on my etsy site at http://stufffrombarb.etsy.com.

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