Fringe Benefits...Crafting Fun with Friends!

Stacey and I had the privilege of joining some fabulous new friends for a day of crafting fun today!  I knew that our project would be a bag/tote of some sort and I jokingly mentioned to Stacey that perhaps it would be this bag DIY that I've been drooling over since I saw it in a magazine a few months ago. 

I can't remember which magazine I saw it in, but after some research, I found out that it originated from the blog Under the Sycamore.  Check out the link for a full tutorial on how to create this simply sweet tote!  Now back to my story...

Sure enough...this (above) was one of our inspiration pics and I started getting a little giddy with excitement.  Our hostess, Melissa, had all kinds of fabric, paint and pom pom fringe laid out for us to start creating.  Of course she also had paint brushes, spray adhesive, canvas totes, sewing notions and other tools to work with.  Now, I absolutely love the bag pictured above, but the creative juices started flowing and I ended up creating my own version...

I fell in love with this beautiful yellow floral Waverly fabric that actually started out as a napkin.  The coral fabric was also from the napkin so I used it as an accent for my bag.

I created a ruffle and added some pom-pom fringe...

 

 

Of course, I couldn't forget the painted doily stencil (since that's what caught my eye in the first place) so I held my paper doily down and used white craft paint to achieve the desired effect.

 

Then I made a fun pinwheel ruffle to set it off...and added some more pom-pom fringe...and a cute vintage button (I added the button when I got home)...

 

 

And here is my finished product!  I am so pleased with how it turned out and I can't wait to start using it.  I always have so many things to carry to and from church (music, kiddo papers, Bible, etc...) so I think that I will start using it for that purpose.

 

 

Matter of fact, I had so much fun creating this bag that you just might see a few of these popping up for sale from the "Nest"!

 

Many thanks to Melissa, our wonderful hostess!  We had a blast meeting new friends, creating our beautiful bags and eating "Funeral Sandwiches" (check out the link for the recipe).  These things are so good that I would lick the floor to get the last drop--not kidding!  My only regret is that I did not get any pictures during the day, but there's always a next time!

 

 

Blessings,

 

Megan