Playing In The River

Photos From A Day At The River

Lovely Petal Purses

In a recent post, I shared several different styles of purses I've made by adding flower petals or ribbon trim to Dollar Store Purses.  I have two more Glammed Up Dollar Store Purses I'd like to feature today.    

This is what the purse started off looking like, right out of the store.  The fabric flower didn't have a strong adhesive, so it was easy just to pull off.  I used both this pink purse and a gray version of it for these makeovers.

These flower petals were from the Dollar Spot at Target, and I used an assorted box of petals for the 2nd purse that I purchased from Michaels.

Starting at the sides, I hot glued overlapping petals starting from the bottom (about 4 rows).  Then starting from the bottom again, I glued rows of slightly overlapping petals across the front.  Once the entire front was covered, I flipped the bag over and covered the back.  

With some lace trim I had on hand, I wrapped the top edge all around the purse and glued a pink ribbon as a finishing touch.  My final step was adding pink rhinestones to the petals.  The pictures don't quite capture the sparkle and pizzazz the rhinestones add.

For this bag, I used a mixed box of brown, pale pink and shimmery see through petals.  Starting at the sides, I layered a pattern of overlapping petals from bottom to top.  Then I went across the front side (bottom to top), layering a pattern of petals before doing the same to the back.       

I glued a band of white ribbon across the top and made a flower accessory with leftover brown petals.  The center of this flower is a vintage button with a pink rhinestone.

I added two of the same vintage buttons to dress up the back, then added pink rhinestones to all of the pink petals.

Voila!  Two more purses to add to my daughter's collection of Glammed Up Dollar Store Purses!  Please check out the ones I made previously here.

I'm joining the following parties...please go check out all of the amazing projects featured there!

Glammed Up Dollar Store Purses

Back in January, I featured my Petal Purse Adorned with a Vintage Brooch. Obsessed, er, inspired to create some more, I came up with two variations to the original design. The magenta bag, minus the black trim, brooch, and white lace, gives you an idea what the purses looked like prior to being dressed up.

With my trusty glue gun, I secured the black trim under the denim band and added a costume jewelry brooch.

The finishing touch was adding the white lace trim as an underskirt. Happy sigh! I love the combination of the bright, bold colors with the delicate lace.

For this whimsical purse, I used a gauzy trim with a beaded edge. 

Starting at the bottom, I wrapped the bag with rows of the trim and added the black finishing trim across the denim band. 

All of the trim and lace were purchased as clearance remnants, usually for no more than a dollar an assorted bag.

Here's a preview of the next purse creation:

They didn't have the same kind of bag I used before, but I found this one at the Dollar Tree. It came with a glued on fabric flower, but the adhesive wasn't on very well. I may borrow their idea and glue more fabric flowers all over the bag or use these pink flower petals from Target's Dollar Spot. 

More glammed up purses soon to come!!!

Woo Hoo! Wednesday: Hat Cookies

Inspired by this post for Easter Bonnet cookies by Bakerella, I made my version for a Women's Clothing and Purse Exchange at my church.  I am well aware that mine don't look a lot like the original...  I have come to a place of acceptance and peace that the projects I undertake don't often look as good as the original.  I have a tendency to do too much versus not enough, restraint and minimalism not being a part of my make up.  And I am okay with this realization!

For my Hat Cookies, I used a recipe for Sugar Cookies by Martha Stewart.  Knowing that the cookies would be extra sweet with all of the frosting, I used 1/4 cup sugar instead of the 1 cup in the recipe.  Each hat is made from two cookies - a thinner, larger one for the base and a smaller, thicker one for the top, so I doubled the recipe also.  To cut out the two circles, I used a plastic piece from the top of our Vitamix for the smaller one and a Japanese tea cup for the larger one.  They were what I found in my kitchen that had the right proportions for the hats.

The glaze for the cookies is a Powdered Sugar Icing (minus the corn syrup, since I didn't have any.)  The funky chartreuse color came from a box of Neon Food Coloring.  I was trying for a fashionable green...  After drizzling the glaze over each hat cookie, I placed them on a cookie tray and stuck them in the freezer to set.

The decor on the hats comes from a jar of vanilla frosting and sprinkles to accessorize.  White for the hat band along with pink and purple flowers (also colors from the box of Neon food dyes.)  My apologies for the smooshed white circles on top of the hats -  I forgot to take pictures until after I removed the foil for transport in the rain.  I can't wait to try this again, maybe a square cookie on the bottom for a graduation party.  The cookies were quite yummy!  And that counts just as much as their cuteness.