CRAFT-Book Purse

I got the idea of doing a book purse after watching it done on the Carol Duvall Show. It was such a novel idea I had to try it.



Libraries are always selling their old books for next to nothing. I purchased this out- of- date encyclopedia volume for $1.00.

This first one was to be pretty much an experiment. I used whatever I already had around the house.

The wider the spine, the more room you’ll have in your purse. That's why I chose the encyclopedia. If you’re thinking you can haul around all of your usual junk, forget it. This is strictly a conversation piece used for fun, light hearted events. It should hold the essentials, keys, cell phone, lipstick.

The fabric inside was leftover from a previous project. I didn't have enough for the side vents so I used clear vinyl that was also a leftover from a previous project.

I carefully removed the pages with an exacto knife paying special attention to NOT cutting the spine cover. If the cover is cut, you’ve cut the bottom of your purse. Throw it out, get another book and start over.

I followed the directions at Wikihow.com They’re great but I believe the cardboard on the side makes it too thick and takes away some of the space in the purse.

I also wasn’t pleased with the way the glue oozed through.

Michael’s had the chains for 98 cents. I bought only one because Michael’s sells out quickly when it has a rare bargain. I used rivets purchased from a leather shop to attach the chain handle. You can see that the closure is a button and a loop of ribbon.

I sealed it with transparent decoupage glue.

The price of purse handles has to be the priciest thing about this project though I lucked out in this case. The acrylic, plastic, beaded handles are a bit pricey.

There are numerous sites that offer directions for these book purses or sell them ready made. Here are just a couple.

scribbit

makeitandtakeit

My favorite is rebound-designs

THAT'S IT***

WANNA BE-Dressmaker's Dummy (the last in a series)

Whenever I’ve seen ads for dressmaker dummies they’re in petite sizes. Sure they have the knob to adjust but I’ve yet to see one that can adjust to my proportions. My bust is one thing, my waist another (not to mention the apron around my middle) and my hips are considered off the chart. (but I love them)
 Sure I can have one custom made but I’m frugal.
Let’s face it people. I wanna be a sewer but so far I’ve just been blowing smoke so why waste money.

I once subscribed to Threads magazine. There was an article titled Clone Yourself a Fitting Assistant. You can find the directions here.

There's also another one here

My niece helped me make mine. Actually, I guess she really did all of the work. I stood there turning periodically while she wrapped me in duct tape. This is a two person job and it takes a couple of hours.
TWO IMPORTANT TIPS1.Get someone to help you that won’t make fun of your cottage cheese thighs.

2. Don’t drink liquids before this project. Pee before you begin.Abbreviated Directions (See the link for the real deal)

* I stripped down to panties and bra (make sure you keep the girls lifted) and put on a clean, old, tee shirt that I would never wear again. (The one with the tomato sauce stains and coffee stains that you couldn’t remove will do fine).
* My niece began tearing off strips of duct tape (I don’t remember the number of rolls or the yardage I purchased) and sticking them to the tee shirt.
* When it comes to the bust area it’s best to use crosswise strips.
* At the neck and arms wrap the areas near the skin with plastic wrap so that the duct tape won’t stick to your flesh. Ouch!

* Once everything was taped, my niece carefully cut the combination tape and tee shirt up the spine and I slipped out of the shell. After being freed from this duct tape prison, I taped the spine area back together with duct tape.
* Next I stuffed it with batting, and taped cardboard under the bottom to keep the batting inside. I put addional tape around the arm holes and neck hole to keep the batting inside.
* I used an old lamp pole from my Dad’s house as a stand. It stood tall until gravity took over and it fell to the bottom.
As you can see the shape is off and the bust has sunken in.
I put the tee shirt on top of the dummy because trying to stick pins in the duct tape is difficult and gummy.  Update: since this post the dummy has been discarded. Who wants mix matched boobs anyway. 11-18-2012

I actually can still use it when I want to get a picture of how a garment will look.

The Threads article also gives directions using materials other than duct tape.

THAT'S IT***

Orange Pretzel Salad

I’d been wanting pretzel salad. It’s usually made with strawberries and strawberry gelatin but I wanted to use what I had on hand which was a can of mandarin oranges and orange gelatin. I found a recipe at tasteofhome.com if you want the recipe.

Here you see all of my ingredients

Place the pretzels inside a zip lock back and crush them.

Mix the crushed pretzels, butter and 2 TBS of sugar together and press the mixture in a pan. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Remove and allow the crust to cool.


Meanwhile:


Place gelatin in a bowl and follow the directions for dissolving it. ( I used orange juice and the syrup from the can of mandarin oranges) Add the mandarin oranges



Place the gelatin in the fridge until it is semi-set.(Sing the Jeopardy song while you wait or go on to the next part)

Combine the softened cream cheese and sugar. Beat until smooth.

Add whipped topping to the cream cheese mixture.

Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the cooled pretzel crust.

After your gelatin is semi-set spoon it on top of the cream cheese mixture. Place everything in the fridge for 2-4 hours until firm.

Remove and cut into squares.

WHAT I DID.

*I halved the recipe.

*It is important that you allow the pretzel crust to cool before spreading on the cream cheese mixture, otherwise it will melt and soggy the pretzel crust.

*MAKE SURE the gelatin is in a semi-set stage before putting it over the cream cheese mixture. If you can pour it, it's not hard enough yet. This one step can mess up the whole sheebang. I ended up pouring the gelatin which made for a soggy crust which is NOT what you want.

I ate it anyway.

THAT"S IT***