Queen Bee Bag

Every once in a while I get a tremendous urge to work with purse frames. I think they're just so chic and fun, and can look as casual or as glam as the fabrics you choose to work with. The onset of this latest urge coincided with the restocking of an adorable bag kit at my favorite bag-shopping-spot u-handbag. They supplied the handle, the frame, the interfacings, and everything else, and I supplied the fabric and thread. I went for a couple vintage looking Tim Holtz prints that I found at Joann's on clearance (they were quite pricey to start with, so clearance brought the price down to 'reasonable').

I wish just a teensy--OK, hold on, I'm going to interrupt myself. Have you seen the Amazon commercial with the baby and the dog and the lion costume? Is that not the sweetest? OK, sorry. So, I wish just a teensy bit I had lined up the gusset and the front better, but I'll get over it. Some day.

A little bling always helps, eh? These chunky built-in rings are perfect for the bigger clips on the end of the leather strap. And the strap is just the right length to carry in your hand, in the crook of your arm, or slung over your shoulder.

The handle is quite lush, too. It's definitely one of the nicer leather straps I've ever seen. If you buy them separate from the kit you get two straps for not a bad price, so if you want to up the ooo-la-la to any bag a bit keep it in mind. 

This bag went together quite easily. I think the part that took the most amount of thought was getting the pocket to line up just so with the front of the bag so that the break wasn't too noticeable.

Of course once stuff is in there it shifts a bit. The back has no pocket and is plain--

I don't remember the exact name of the fabric, but it's from Tim Holtz's Eclectic Elements line. I think it's 'Vintage Photo Cards' or something to that effect. The lining is from the same fabric line, and if it hadn't been printed slightly crooked I'd have made it the exterior, I'm so in love with it.

Remember when businesses used to give out rulers or yard sticks with their name printed on it? I cut all of my fabrics out and spent a day pondering if I loved this enough to deal with any crookedness in the print if I put it on the exterior, and the answer was no. I guess I could have cut it on the bias as it's interfaced anyway and wouldn't have stretched. Why can't I have these thoughts when I need them?

The bag ended up being a little smaller than I thought, but it is still a great size--big enough for all the essentials and a small umbrella or a bottle of water or something like that. I can't wait to carry it!