Clutch Makeover DIY

So what do you think?  It's different, I know.  

The lace says flirty and feminine.  The ombre-esque paint job says fun and artsy.  The bold stripes say sporty and casual.  The white patent leather says classy and sophisticated.  What does it say to you?  

This clutch in particular is not for every woman.  I think it's a little "young" for me so I'm putting it in my sell or gift category of crafts.  The concept of this project is very adaptable to any look though.  Imagine a white lace on a brown bag for a western/rustic look.  Or if you've seen my Naughty Notions clutch, it is a bit more sexy and edgy.  You won't believe how simple it was to make!  A little paint, a little Mod Podge, a little trimming, a little patience, and done!

Supplies:

• Purse.  Patent leather worked great for me, but you can Mod Podge virtually any smooth surface.  Take it easy on yourself and look for a purse with simple lines and lots of flat surface area.  
• Acrylic paint.  I used Martha Stewart's Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Craft Paint in Carrot and Pond.
• Mod Podge.  I used matte finish.  
• Paint brush.  I used the same 1cm wide flat brush for paint and Mod Podge.
• Sponge.  I cut a strip off the sponge in my kitchen sink.
• Lace.  I used some 4 inch wide flat lace.
• Strips of fabric or ribbon.  I used some bright orange bias tape.
• Scissors.  I used some itty-bitty sharp scissors I stole from my husband's dopp kit.  

Here's what I started with.  A classic white patent leather clutch.  I picked it up at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for a mere $.95.  It is 18 inches long with a metal frame.  The closure is brass.  The lining is a dark navy blue with a zippered pocket.

I prepped my purse for decoupaging by wiping it down with a damp cloth.  Then I removed any oils or residues with rubbing alcohol.

The lace I wanted to use was a pale blue.  It was pretty, but lacked the pow factor I was looking for.  I painted the lace with Pond on some freezer paper and hung it up to dry.

Next, I used my brush (not shown) and painted two coats of Carrot on the border of the lace.  Then I used my little sponge to feather some more color onto the edges.  

To add the lace I painted Mod Podge over the top of it to adhere it to the purse.  Being so porous, the Mod Podge soaked right through the lace.  I adjusted and straightened the lace to my satisfaction as it dried.  For the bias tape strips, I painted a layer on the back of them first and then stuck them onto the purse.  Then I painted another layer of Mod Podge on the top side.  I fiddled with them until they were as straight and evenly spaced I wanted them.  

I trimmed up the excess lace and bias tape with some tiny sharp scissors.   While the Mod Podge was still slightly wet, I trimmed the lace and bias tape and pressed them down along the edges.  That way all the edges fully and smoothly adhered to the curved surface of the purse.  If you're not careful and diligent during this step, you could end up with a rough edge that will snag and scratch things.

The last step is to let it dry completely.  And that was it.  Easy right?  The above photo is pretty large.  Click on it if you'd like to see the purse up close.  I'm thinking about painting just the handle blue or orange.  What do you think?  I can't decide.

Now imagine some silver lace on a black patent leather purse with some of the new glitter Mod Podge.....Yeah, that's what I'm cooking up next!  Stay tuned!

Special thanks to my 5 yr old daughter for taking my fashion shots!

You noticed the snow along the fence?  The photos were taken Wednesday, March 21.  Spring is a little frosty up here in Montana!

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

From Ricochet's Tool Box:

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I've been sewing for a few years now, but I only just recently bought myself a self-healing cutting mat to use with my rotary cutter.  What did I use before that?  The plastic chair mat under my office chair.  Yes.  Seriously.  You see when we moved into our current home, the carpet in the office was too thick to roll our office chair on.  So we bought a floor mat.  Turns out we bought one that was too rigid for the pile of our carpet so it cracked.  The cracked mat was rolled up and set aside.  I could see the ruined mat when I was typing away on the computer (as I am now!).  Throwing away all that nice plastic seemed a waste.  But what else could you use a cracked floor mat for?

I don't know how it works in your house, but in mine the leftover bits of furniture go to my craft room.  I have the old computer desk for my sewing machine, the old dining room table, the old filing cabinets, some mismatched end tables, bits and pieces of old closet systems, etc.  I eventually ended up with the old broken chair mat as well.  I'm not too sure what the circumstances were or when I started making cuts on the floor mat, but I did and it worked.  

I didn't have an acrylic ruler either, but I had a metal straight edge with a cork back.  The straight edge worked great with my little rotary cutter and the floor mat.  Remember my Naughty Notions Clutch?  I used my floor mat for all the squaring up and trimming in that project.

[source]

The spikes under the mat (my mat at least) are spaced exactly one inch apart.  They form a perfect grid which I used to square up all my cuts.

Remember the patchwork pillows I made for my mom for Christmas?  I used the floor mat to cut all the fabric.  Even though it meant doing all the cutting on my knees on the carpet, it still beat cutting all those strips of fabric with scissors.

[source]

Over President's Day weekend I finally bought a real rotary cutting set.  I waited for the 50% off sale and used my 20% military discount and bought this very nice cutting set for under $20.  It was well worth my money.  Now that I am making my first large quilt, I can appreciate getting up off the floor to cut all my strips of fabric.

Now you all know a bit more about me and my cheapskate make-do-with-what-you-got attitude towards craft supplies.  I have a few more tricks up my sleeve so stay tuned.

While I have you here, please check out our current (March 2012) sewing challenge HERE.

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

From Ricochet's Tool Box

I'm not quite sure sometimes if I'm more clever or cheap or lazy.  Most likely it's a combination of these qualities that make me the crafter that I am.  Allow me to elaborate, please.  There is always a home improvement project going on at my house.  Hence, we always have an abundance of blue painter's tape lying around.  As you probably already know, the main use of painter's tape is to tape off areas that you don't want to get paint on.  Also, the main quality of the blue tape is that it is low tack, and therefore easy to remove and doesn't leave a sticky residue behind.  Because we have a lot of it lying around our home, I have been utitlizing it in various crafty projects.  Here are some examples:

I used lots of blue tape in my Paper Weaving Tutorial.  It really
helped to secure the weave and keep it nice and tight.  When
it was time to remove the tape, it left the paper undamaged.

I used blue tape in my Tudor Rose Tutorial to secure the leaves to
the petals.  When I tried it with stick pins, the pins caught up on parts
of my sewing machine and fell out when I was rotating the flower.

This is a photo of wallet I was working on a while back.
I used tape to mark where I wanted to place the inside pockets.
I also wrote the measurements on the tape.

When I buy a pattern, I unfold all the tissue and tape around the
edges of all the pattern pieces.  Then, I cut out the pieces.  This
reinforces each piece and makes it really easy to trace onto fabric.
The blue-taped pattern pieces don't fit neatly in their original envelope,
but usually I paperclip them all together an lay them on a shelf.
I only take the time to do this with a pattern that I know I will use over
and over again.  

As you can see, blue tape is used all throughout my craft room.

The masking tape doesn't have to be blue, of course.  When I was making
 The Envelope Wristlet Tutorial, I used some regular masking tape
to help me mark where to place the magnetic clasp on the flap.

Because it has a higher tack than the blue tape, I used regular masking tape
to keep the edge of the flap clean and decoupage free.  You can see
the finished project here: Another Modge Podge Upcycle.

Stay tuned for more unconventional crafting supplies from Ricochet's tool box.  Also, please check out our current sewing challenge, The Naughty Notions Challenge.

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Solids-Only Tote Challenge: My Entry

Update:  You can see all 18 of the finished totes and voter for your favorite HERE.  Anyone can vote once a day until Dec. 31st. 

Hello tote fans!

Keren from sew la vie and I have been very busy lately hosting The Solids-Only Tote Challenge!  You should visit the challenge homepage, read about the challenge guidelines, and meet all the challenge participants.  Including the hostesses, we have 19 participants!!!!!  [insert girlish squeal!]  Yes, 19 talented people from all over the world!!!! It's very exciting, isn't it?  

Since bags are kinda my gig, I was stoked for this challenge.  I made a pretty impressive [insert tooting sound of my own horn!]  inspiration gallery and pinterest board from which to draw ideas.  My big ideas?  Wanna know 'em?  Well, scroll down if you don't.  [insert cheeky wink!]  

First big idea:  Patchwork.  I've been obsessed with quilting lately.  Mostly due to Keren's influence, I should add.  I made quilts for my son and daughter.  So, with quilting on the brain, patchwork was a gimme.

Big idea number two:  Don't buy any new stuff!  I have plenty of everything and don't need to go out and buy anything new.  In fact, this really should have been my first big idea!

Third big idea:  A cool, as in tonal temperature, pallet.  This kind of goes hand-in-hand with my aforementioned quilting compunction.  Now stay with me and I'll tell ya why.  Gray.  Yes, the color!  Gray is popping up all over the world of design.  [That and citrine, which I didn't realize was a color.]  In the home decor realm you see it in everywhere from nurseries to dining rooms.  In the quilting realm, it's shoving cream out of the running for top neutral.  Here are a couple of my gray faves from my quilting pinterest board:

Source: ohfransson.com via Rikka @ Ricochet and Away! on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Rikka @ Ricochet and Away! on Pinterest

And there you have it.  Now you've seen the before, so let's move on to the during:

Quilters everywhere are cringing as they look at the fabric I chose to work with.  No 100% cotton quilt-weight fabrics for me.  For starters, I have a jersey and a stretch suiting in the mix.  Sewing stretchy to non-stretchy is not what savvy quilters do.  But I figured I'd give it a try because the colors were so great.  Hey, what's a challenge without some actual challenge?  Perhaps I was shooting myself in the foot, but I was feeling daring enough to risk it.  Another big quilting no-no is to mix weights of fabric.  My fabrics ranged from a wispy crepe to a heavy upholstery fabric.  But again, I saw the colors together and couldn't help myself.  

First step was to cut some strips and sew them together side-by-side.  Then, I cut the blocks into triangles, rearranged them, and sewed them back together again.  The pic above is what it looked like when I got to that point.  I then cut nine 5" squares out of it.  I added the gray sashing between the squares and the hardest part was over!  Did I run into some problems?  Well, yes I did.  My choice in fabric made it difficult to iron down the seam allowances and keep everything nice and flat.  There is some wonkiness and puckering as well.  Not enough went wrong for me to admit that I failed.  However, I do admit that I've learned my lesson, and will make more prudent fabric choices in the future!

The backs and sides were machine quilted in a pretty turquoise thread.  I wasn't sure I had enough thread to finish the all the quilting, and I didn't want to buy more.  Sticking to my don't-buy-anything guns, I used up all my half full bobbins  for the quilting.  So if you were to see the back side of the panel up there, you'd find orange, purple, black, and yellow bobbin thread.  It felt good to use it all up.  I wonder if you all save your unused bobbin thread.  Do you store them or empty them out after a sewing project?  I'm curious.

This part was pretty fun.  I got out all my square buttons and studs and coordinating embroidery flosses.  It took a lot of fiddling and second guessing, but eventually I narrowed it down to one color of floss and the studs.

And here is a nice view of the embellished front.

I found a scrap of vinyl to use for the bottom and some teal wooden handles.  

Phew!  This is turning out to be a long-winded post.  I'm going to just chill at this point and show you some pics of the finished tote.  Just leave a comment if you have any questions.

The easiest way to show the inside is to turn it inside out.

I used big ol' plastic buttons for feet.

That was a lot of pictures!  I hope it didn't take too long for it to load up.  Thanks for sticking with me!  November is the month to count your blessings and reflect on all the things you are thankful for.  I am so thankful for all my readers out there.  Thanks for taking the time to browse through my posts, for leaving lovely comments, and for telling others about me!  You rock!

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Suede Flower Detail

     This was originally posted on Blooms and Bugs.  Anshu and I did a blog swap, my first!  Here's my post,  I didn't change a thing:


     Hello!  My name is Rikka J. and I am visiting from the blog Ricochet and Away!  I am a small town girl from rural Montana who loves to sew handbags.  I first met Anshu when I came across her cute Military and Lace Dress.  Anshu has a real handle on sewing knits--something I've always shied away from.  But she was very helpful and suggested a using a walking foot on my sewing machine.  I'm going to try it out.  Fingers crossed because my last attempts at sewing jersey were abysmal!  Anshu and I are swapping blogs for a day.  How exciting!  So be sure to head over to Ricochet and Away! and check out what she is posting today.   


     For my post today, I tried to come up with an idea that would compliment and not duplicate any of the terrific projects Anshu has already created.  So I thought I'd share with you all a simple flower embellishment tutorial.  I placed the flower on a purse, but I think it would be great as a broach or added to a headband. I hope you like it!  (Remember you can click on any photo to see it larger.)
     
     My cousin was married last month in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in rural Montana.  I bought this obnoxious fun zebra print dress to wear, but didn't have the right purse to go with it.  Some ladies fret over what shoes to wear, but I'm not one of them.  I'm a bag lady through and through!  To solve my handbag dilemma, I headed over to my local thrift store and found a purple leather purse with a thin shoulder strap.  Perfect!

Here's a look at the thrifted purse "before". It was in perfect condition.  I loved the structured design, and the size was just right.  I could fit my wallet, keys, cell, lip gloss, AND a pair of those disposable slippers for my aching feet.  (I've never conditioned my body for wearing heels so every time I dress up, I pay for it!)  The price on the purse was $2.99, but I dickered it down to $1.25.  Well, the dickering consisted of me saying I'd take 4 purses for $5.  Another example of how buying in bulk saves you money!      Problems with the purse?  Well, upon bringing it home, I discovered it's not the correct shade of purple to match my dress.  And of course, there was the ugly interesting button on the flap that needed to be dealt with.

Leather is so expensive, but I love to use it in my crafts. To make it more affordable, I turn to thrift stores and garage sales.  For this project I used some green suede that came from a garage sale, a  lavender suede that was from a thrifted skirt, and some darker purple  suede that came from a pair of thrifted trousers.  Now who would give up a perfectly decent pair of purple suede pants to a charity shop? LOL, lucky for me they did!  If leather isn't an option for you,  I suggest felt or vinyl because they have a stiff quality and  you won't have to worry about fraying.

List of Supplies: Suede, micro-suede,  felt, or vinyl        Fabric glue Clothes pins Scissors Button(s) or beads Thin wire and pliers or needle and thread

• The first step was to cut out 5 pf each color of suede teardrops.  I did this by using my die cutter, but scissors would work just as well.  
• The next step was to glue a little fold or pleat into the pointed end of each teardrop.  I held the pleat down with a clothes pin while the glue dried.  
• Then, I used a piece of suede as a base and glued the leaves/petals to it.  I used Tacky Glue. It dries clear and is still holding very well.  

• I used my die cutter again to cut out a small daisy-like shape to cover all the pleated points of the teardrops.  The die cutter made this pretty easy, but again I think scissors would work just as well.
• I found this shiny faceted button in my stash to use for the center of my flower.  Suede is hard to push a needle through so I opted to sew the button onto this daisy shape rather than through all the layers of the entire flower.  
• Actually, I didn't technically "sew" it on.  I used one of my sturdy upholstery needles to poke a couple of holes in the center of the daisy.  Then, I used a length of craft wire to attach the button.

The next step was to glue the daisy onto the rest of the flower.  Here's a good look at the front and back.

The original button popped right off and I glued the suede flower right on the flap.

And here it is all finished.  I love it!

     I hope you all were inspired to try out this simple technique.  And while I'm here, I hope you don't mind if I shamelessly plug the Retro Pillow Challenge.  The challenge is in it's voting stage this month (Oct 2011) and I'm sure all 12 of the participants would love for you to check out their creations and vote for your favorite:  

After you vote, come and check out our newest sewing challenge:
Sign-ups for the Tote Challenge have already begun!

Happy Crafting and Big Hugs from Montana,