My new purse!!

I am going to Phoenix soon and when I started thinking about what I was going to take on the plane, I decided that I wanted a purse. Now before I made this one, I didn't own a purse. Haven't, in fact, owned a purse for probably over 10 years, if ever. Usually I just take my wallet with me, and except for the last year or so, I've always had a diaper bag along. When I was carrying a diaper bag I never wanted a purse because I figured a diaper bag and a kid was enough to keep track of and I figured if I added a purse to the mix, I'd definitely lose something!

So I started looking online at Etsy to find myself something. I knew I didn't want a regular purse because, well, they are boring. And I wasn't about to sell any of my children so I could afford something like a Coach purse (what's the big deal with those anyway?), so I found a few on Etsy that I liked. Problem was, they were a little more than I was willing to spend, and seeing that I only started looking for purses on Sunday, there was no way it would arrive before I left.

So I decided I would just make one. I had seen some wonderful fabrics online and knew that my local Hancock or JoAnn wouldn't carry those, I went to Ginny's Fine Fabrics & Support Group. Yep, that is really the name of the shop. I had been looking at Amy Butler fabric and according to the online locator, Ginny's carried some of her fabrics. I put all the kids in the van and we went there.

The shop was wonderful!! Most of what she carries is better suited toward weddings, etc but she does carry some Amy Butler. When I went in she asked me what I was looking for. I told her and she began to pull out some fabrics for me to look at. Then I asked for some contrasting fabric to go with a couple of the ones I had picked out and then some matching ribbon. It was a full service shop and I loved it!!! I was glad I didn't have to go all over the store (not that it is huge) trying to find things on my own. And I'm definitely going back when I want some cool ribbon. After I had picked out the fabric I asked her about thread. She went and got the matching thread for me and showed me two different types of magnetic closures. She recommended the sew-on one because the ones that you punch through the fabric have a tendency to tear the fabric since the magnet is often stronger than the fabric.

My total spent at the store was more than I anticipated, but that was because I bought more fabric than I needed which I knew would happen. But I had no pattern and I didn't want to buy too little. Now I have extra and Ellie and Kara are asking for their own bags. And now I want to make myself some more. I've even been searching for fabrics online. :-)

Here is what I made. The top fabric is Kaffe Fasset. I'm not sure what the bottom fabric is. I still need to sew on the magnetic closure.


Here is a pic of the inside.