blossom handbag for my sister

This is my Christmas gift to my sister. We love ourselves some bags! And now she has a new one to sport.

I used Amy Butler's free pattern from her new Style Stiches book which I downloaded from SewMamaSew a few months ago. Man, real bags have a ton more steps than when I just make things up in my head. This bag took me 3 nights! But when you do it properly--line with interfacing, add heavy duty Peltex, and include all the details that make this bag stand out--the time really adds up. But it's worth it.

This was my first venture with magnetic clasps. I had no idea that they were so easy to install. The one I bought for this bag was on clearance and it came with no instructions, but I thought I would need a special tool or hammer or something. But I didn't need anything but muscles to close the prongs.

And I still did it wrong. I didn't realize until the bag was completely assembled and waiting to be wrapped that the little discs that, I thought, had unattached themselves from the back of the clasps because they were cheap and therefore cheaply made were actually planned to unattach so they could fit over the prongs on the other side of the fabric. So the prongs wouldn't tear through the fabric when opening the bag flap over and over. I was really mad about that. No one will notice . . . maybe not even my sister, but it, of course, still bothers me.

Regardless of this mistake, the bag is still really pretty. I like these large prints. To save time (and because I ran out of fabric) I decided not to include the dividers. I think the dividers would help the bag keep its shape better, not to mention add more organization, but it looks good without them, too.

Merry Christmas, Laura!
 
 
 
Helping with the photo shoot . . .
 

 
 
Tired of helping with the photo shoot . . .