homemade.

Sometimes, I sew things.

I guess you could say it's kind of a newfound hobby. And it's come in pretty handy, like when my $10 plastic, bought-it-on-the-cruiseship-because-I-forgot-to-pack-my-purse bag just started falling apart.

I started with a $4 roll of remnant fabric from Ikea and this (free!) pattern from Made By Rae. I enlarged the pattern by about 130% (using the extremely high-tech method of zooming in Microsoft Word and then tracing onto tissue paper directly from the computer screen... not sure I should admit that!) and tweaked a few things here and there to make a completely customized, just the way I like it, brand new purse.

My favorite part of the whole process was getting to put pockets exactly where I wanted them, in exactly the size I wanted them to be (no more fishing around for my keys!!).

I added a divider in the middle to keep the diapers and toddler paraphernalia separate from the wallet, checkbook, etc. Thanks to my friend Aubrey for that idea! You are officially thinking like a mom ;).

I also reinforced all of the lining with heavy weight interfacing and added padding to the strap, since I tend to be a bit rough on my bags (How many snacks, toys and books can we stuff in one bag to get the kid to sit through church?).

And there you have it! A completely one-of-kind, made just right for me purse for under $5. I just love being thrifty!