Friday, March 22, 2013

Hello again!! So sorry I haven't  been back in awhile. I am excited! A Jo-annes opened up about 20 minutes away and I am over the moon! Before I would drive 1 hour to go to one so I only went about four times a year. Now I can go whenever I want, yay!!!! My husband is probably going to soon hate the word Jo-annes, haha! Anyway, as I was browsing through this beautiful, new store and imagining all the things I could do, I came across a really neat plastic canvas item. I don't usually do plastic canvas but my girls are getting older and want to craft so I thought it would be a good thing for them to start with. There is a plastic canvas shape to make a purse/clutch. I had to try it,of course, just to see if it's something my girls would like (wink). It was so much fun. I used silver sparkly yarn to dress it up. They sell the snaps for the purse right next to the shapes so it's easy to grab what you need and go. It did take me awhile to make it, probably because I chose to do small stitches. If I had done a larger pattern it wouldn't have taken near as long, but I love how it turned out and my girls can't wait to try one. Here are the items you need: the plastic canvas shape, yarn of your choice, the snap to keep the purse together and plastic canvas needles.

The snap you need
 
 
You can use any stitch or pattern you want, I went with a simple stitch, coming up in one square and going down in the square diagonal from it. It does take awhile to make so many little stitches, but it is really fun to see the finished project. When you have finished stitching/ designing your shape. You need to fold the side flaps up and using yarn and your plastic canas needle you will sew the sides together going in the square on the purse side then the square on the flap side, doing this all the way to the end, on all the seams.


I am still new at this, so I'm sorry if the instructions are hard to follow. I will get better, I promise! I am working on the assumption that those of you reading this already know the basics of plastic canvas so didn't think about taking pictures of each step. I will try to do that next time! I think this is a pretty little project, and fun for all ages. You could add a ribbon shoulder stap, or maybe even a crotcheted one. There are a lot of different ways you could do this cute little purse. Have fun! I know I did!
Next time I hope to share how I am making reusable snack bags. They are adorable and I can't wait to make some! Talk to you later, have fun crafting!
Leah