Before & After – Felt Purses

There are times when projects don’t begin from scratch. Some begin with a found object that needs a touch up, re-purposing or a make-over. This Before & After series will highlight such projects.

A purse is an important (albeit largely utilitarian) part of a woman’s wardrobe. However, a purse for a young girl is a necessity of epic proportions. Little girls need a purse to carry their most treasured items! Love Bug has had a purse or special bag since very early in life. One of my favorite things is to peer into her various bags to see what made the cut. It’s usually packed with jewels, purse staples like a mirror, lip gloss, sunglasses and her favorite toy car plus a few sparkly items. That is unless she has her babies. Then her bag is full of baby clothes and shoes. I’m not sure where she gets her purse habits but it’s like a peek into her thoughts and I love it.

Last week’s homemade gifts post was one project short. While walking through the clearance aisle, I came across two basic felt purses. Their look was right, the colors were perfect and the price was fantastic (really cheap!). I knew the pink one would be irresistible to Love Bug and the other would be a perfect gift for a special friend who’s birthday is coming up.

All the purses needed was a little oomph. I stuck with simple and they turned out great.

For this project, I used the purses I found and:

-scrap felt pieces
-embroidery thread and needle
-paint
-stamp

First, I used the embroidery thread to attach layered felt hearts and some decorative stitching.

The paint and stamp was a mid-project choice. I wasn’t liking the extra stitching I added so I snipped it off and added paint. I used the most hacked up stamp on the planet to make the painted hearts. I did try to use another heart stamp I have but I just couldn’t. It wasn’t right. So I cut one from a sheet of foam and stuck it to an existing stamp. MacGuyver would be proud.

To finish them off, I stitched the initials for the little ladies on the backside.

Once the purses dried, Bug had them both packed in about 47 seconds. A flower hair clip, a heart necklace, a cupcake lip gloss and the felt circles from our makeshift Nerf gun dart board. Who knows why but it made me smile.

Then we unpacked the turquoise purse, made a birthday card and packaged it up for our birthday friend. The girls will see each other in a month or so and I’m hopeful the purses will be along for their adventures.

The one glove thing is part of Love Bug’s dress up routine right now. It’s not for Michael Jackson. Instead it’s for Merida of the movie Brave. Merida is an archer and uses a glove when she shoots her ‘bone’ and arrow. We are doing lots of Brave reenactments right now and, as a family, we go deep for our characters.