purse with felt flowers

The first thing Pinterest inspired me to make was a new purse! I followed a pin to a great tutorial of exactly what I wanted.



Here is the link to thecraftymamma's blog and tutorial:


http://thecraftymamablog.blogspot.com/2010/10/chocolate-burlap-purse.html




I found some sturdy, jean-like fabric in my mother's fabric closet that was leftover from another sewing project. I liked that it had the pinstripe detail but it was neutral enough to use every day. The plan was to follow craftymama's steps exactly, but I ended up leaving the ruffles off because I liked the way the purse looked without them.




This is what my finished product looks like:

I made the felt flowers based on another pin I found on pinterest. The link is here:

http://www.marthastewart.com/273124/floral-pillows-with-ultrasuede-petals?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/sewing-projects

(it's the second picture if you don't see the flower photo)

Here's a closer shot of the flowers:

My original plan was to wear this purse with the strap across my chest but I never wore it like that and the strap was too long to carry on one shoulder so I knotted it and now it's perfect. It holds everything I need it to, including a 9" x 12" plastic envelope full of paperwork. I love it!

The whole project took me less than 2 hours from start to finish and I have received a crazy amount of compliments! I've even had a few friends ask me to make them purses too!