purse project!

Last ‘Monday’ took a dump on me when a can of Diet Coke exploded in my purse. Did I mention I was in the middle of an argument on the phone at the veterinary’s office an hour away from home in ninety-five degree weather? Fantastic.

Anywho, I’m a huge advocate for the saying, ‘it must have happened for a reason’… so I decided to turn this stinking pile of lemons into lemonade. Below is a picture of my bag:

This is a Shelly Segal purse my mom got me around 2007. Seeing that it was a “pretty penny”, I was too scared to use it for two years after I received it because I know I’m horrible with taking care of nice things. I was right, because I have only used this purse for about a year and already I have gotten paint on it plus the hardware started to fall apart. And now, thanks to that special Monday, it was soaked with Diet Coke.

I thought I could take this time to get a new purse, yay! for shopping, but boo! for spending.

Below is a picture of this bag I REALLY REALLY wanted on Modcloth.com. The reviews are good for the bag, but some reviewers said the price is expensive for the size.

I also didn’t feel like opening up my wallet and dishing out eighty bucks, so I figured why not paint my bag? If all else fails, I can always buy myself that bag online. While I was painting the bag, I realized that I would have to paint a map… and… well… maps aren’t sexy in my book. What is sexy? Old stationary. Vintage Postal stationary and stamps. Compasses. So I winged the design after I painted in the stripes, and this is what I got:

I thought the messenger bag on Modcloth is MUCH cuter, but I still like my bag because it is detailed and personalized. Kind of funky …. like TGIFriday’s threw up on my purse. But with flair? Shrugs… haha.

front detail - note in the previous picture I had acrylic mishaps on the bottom of the bag - I turned those blotches into cute little stamps.

Here’s the back - nothing says ‘enjoy your journey’ like a simple, paper plane.

My name is everywhere 1) on the letter, 2) on the stamp, 3) on the wax seal 4) next to the compass.

Also, note my birth date on the postal stamp.