For the Love of Handbags

Some loves are timeless, knowing no beginning, foreseeing no end.

Sing it, Whitney:

If I should stay,
I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you every step of the way.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you. 

There I go getting all sentimental... or at least mental.

Today I'm sharing with you my timeless love for a good handbag. 

Starting back in the late.... um....80s yeah, that'll work...(heh) when I was just a little kid, I really loved handbags and dress up. I can't imagine my mom ever wore this sheer number but if she did I'm sure she had on a slip as was customary back in the sixt- oops, er. I mean eighties...

Playing dress up with one of my many purses. <3

Easter Sunday with our bonnets and purses.

Possibly my first ever "squee!" face and I'm sure it was due to handbag joy.

Pretty sure this was the first time I ever saw a purse up close.

So there you have it, my friends. While the ability to make them is a new found joy; the obsession goes back a long ways. However, there was a dry spell of about 20 years where I just carried my money and ID in my back pocket. I was always forgetting a bag if I carried one, so I opted to travel light.

Then something happened one day and I met the most amazing purse and I wondered how I could ever have turned my back on something I'd love so long.

Now I make them and sell them and am literally being overrun by them.

Oh, did I mention I have some for sale? Check them out on http://www.etsy.com/shop/lovemetwiceboutique

Or, get it a little cheaper by shopping right from my facebook page. Just comment on something you see in the photo album and tell me you want it. Everything is roughly $2 cheaper that way since we don't have any fees to worry about.

 

Buttercup bag and a wristlet for my friend

My BFF turned 50 today and so I made her a special present. A Buttercup bag from the free pattern here.

Then I decided I wanted to make her a wallet, too. But after searching pinterest, craftgawker and google images high and low, I couldn't come up with anything that really took my breath away.

So I got to thinking... what would happen if I just made a mini version of the Buttercup? This is a 75% reduction, without the inside pocket, a zipper added to the top and a loop for a handle.

Got the dangle doodad pull from Walmart in the beading section for like $3 I think. It has a lobster claw clasp on it, so adding it to the zipper was painlessly easy.

Here they are together so you can get an idea of size. That was my very first Buttercup bag. I had seen it around on the internet for a while now and it was on my sewing bucket list, but I had no idea how... petite it is. Quite a bit smaller than my normal everyday, lug-all-my-crap-around bag. I think the Buttercup measures 9" wide at the widest point and the strap is 22" long. When I have it on my shoulder, the bag pretty much tucks up under my arm. So the wristlet is also smaller than you might think.

I didn't measure it, but it can  hold cellphone, sunglasses, keys, credit cards, lipstick and money. What more do you need when you head into the store from your car?

So the surprise party went off without a hitch, and the bags were a HUGE hit! To top it off, she showed up wearing an outfit that matched them perfectly. How awesome is that?

HAPPY BIG 5-OH! KAREN!!

The Checks, Ruffles and Bow Bag

Here's my latest creation. I am just in LOVE with this sweet pea of a bag. It's a medium sized shoulder bag with magnetic snap closure, ruffled top and 2 slip pockets on the inside for organization.

The story behind this bag is that it came from the joining of two previously loved shirts.A green and blue checked men's button up short sleeved shirt, and a ladies fitted summer top with spaghetti straps. Both were purchased at the Humane Society Thrift Store here locally in what was a bag-stuffing frenzy. They had a "stuff the bag" sale where they gave you a 13 gallon trash bag (tall kitchen) and whatever clothes you could stuff into it ended up $7 for the whole sha-bang. If you got 2 bags they were $10 -- another $2 off per bag! -- so naturally I have 6 13 gal. bags of clothes waiting to be "loved twice". :)

I really had fun with this. I found a bow tutorial on the internet. I'd link to it but I don't remember where that was as I started this over a month ago and the project got set aside due to a family emergency.

Here's the finished product. If you are interested, it's for sale! $35 plus shipping. Leave a comment or contact me at signsintime (at) gmail (dot) com.