One of my favorite sections at Thrift Town is the purse and bag section. There’s no question why, because who doesn’t love them?! There are always so many options from different colors and styles. Most the time I look for leather bags either black or brown just so that they go with everything. I found a few great bags that I’ll share next time, but this blog is all about how to spice up a basic purse! Sometimes I’ll find purses that I like, but I know something is missing. With this DIY project, it solves that problem! This was the before picture, just a plain brown leather purse that i found for $3 and the fabric was about $2 so all together this project only costs about $5!

 

 

 

 

 

First find a fabric or material that really catches your eye. I fell in love with this tribal print and have been putting it on everything, even my journals and sketch books!

 

 

 

 

Then depending on the material of your bag, either use fabric glue or hot glue. On this purse I’m using hot glue because it will stick to the leather better. If the bag is more of the cloth material, fabric glue will work better.

Next, chose the area you’re going to place the fabric. For me this decision was hard because I had so many options!

Then glue the surface of the bag and lay down the fabric. Make sure the glue is put on evenly and the fabric is completely stuck on there. I laid my fabric right down the middle for a tribal stripe look.

 

 

 

 

 

And there you have it, a whole new bag in a matter of minutes, and the very best part… No one will have the same look as you! It’ll be your own unique design!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as the sketch books go, I covered a few and this is how they turned out…

Love it!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show us what you make by tagging @thrifttown on instagram and twitter!

 

 

 

Ali Futrell lives in San Francisco and attends the San Francisco Art Institute. She loves DIY projects and anything involving fashion or art. Being a starving student, she has come to realize thrifting is a great way to save money yet still look fashionable, and Thrift Town makes that possible! #alisblog