We all have a ton of old tee shirts lying around. You know the ones that you love so much you can’t throw them away, but you can’t wear them either? Maybe they’ve shrunk (or you’ve grown), maybe they’re stained or have holes. Why not turn them into a punk rock, eco-friendly, tote bag for groceries, or whatever you have to carry around?

Step One:
Lay your shirt flat, iron if necessary. Cut off the sleeves at the seam.

Step Two:
Cut out the neck, leaving a scoop effect, and a wide enough opening to stuff easily, while being careful to
leave your handles (area between neck and where the sleeves used to be) at least 1.5 inches wide.

Step Three:
Turn the tee inside out, and sew a straight line across bottom hem of the tee, sewing the two sides together. You can do this by hand or machine stitch.

You are done! Flip it back to right side out and stuff- you now have a tote bag!

Optional Materials:
Purse feet
Purse corners
Jewels, glitter or paint
Fabric (for liner, if desired)

Cigar box purses are so easy and fun to make, and give you endless possibilities for your creativity!

Cigar boxes can be found at most tobacco shops. Many people use cigar boxes in crafting, so the store owners are used to saving their empty boxes. Some will give them to you for free, others will charge a small fee of a couple dollars per box. Make sure you choose one that will be suitable as a purse. Think of size, depth and how the box closes. If the cigar box already has a decent latch, you may be able to leave it. Why go through another step?

Mod Podge, purse handles, latches and other accessories can all be purchased at your local craft store. Handles come in many styles, so pick one out that will complement your finished product nicely.

Start by finding your paper pieces you want to use to decorate your purse. Magazines, photos, postage stamps, labels, printouts from the internet, etc. I usually cover the entire box in a similar theme, but you can always just use a couple of pictures and leave some of the wood exposed.

For this example, I will be covering the whole box. You can map out where your cut-outs will go ahead of time, or just figure it out as you go along (this is my preferred method). You can start with the box open or closed, but if you cover the box when it is closed, you may cover the edges of the box where the two halves separate. If you do this, wait until the box is dry and then slice the two halves apart with a craft knife.

Choose your first piece and either paint some Mod Podge on the back of the image, or directly on the box. Stick the piece down and then cover the entire piece and just outside the edges with more Mod Podge.

Continue this process until the box is covered to your liking. Let the cigar box dry completely.

Cut your box open with your craft knife if you sealed it shut. Open the box and coat the exterior with spray sealant, polyurethane or thick gloss glaze.

Once the box has dried a second time, you can add your handle, hinges, latch, purse corners or feet if necessary. If you prefer to decorate with fabric trim, gems, glitter or other embellishments, now is the time to add it!

An optional step is to line the box with more paper pieces or fabric. Hot glue works great for fabric lining. If you use paper, just repeat the same steps for the interior as you did for the exterior.

You did it! You have a darling and functional repurposed cigar box purse that will be the envy of your friends.

Amanda Violett is a 29 year old graphic designer, lives in Dallas, Texas, and is a relentless crafter. Anything she can get her hands on, she will revamp it to make it special. She is inspired by art deco, B-movie posters, found objects, vintage advertisements, all things retro, consumer packaging, propaganda art, lettering and font style and old flickering neon signs. She has a fear of mayonnaise and an obsession with Elvira and pressed pennies. To see more of her creations, visit her Etsy shop at revivalism.etsy.com.

Quilted Calavera

The word calavera is Spanish for “skull” and can refer to things associated with the Mexican celebration of the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

The calavera fabric used for this project was found at JoAnn’s and is only one of many available.

Materials:

¼ yd. Dia De Los Muertos fabric with at least 2 inch skulls as part of the design

¼ yd. black cotton fabric for backing

¼ yd. quilt batting

Scissors

2 colors of embroidery thread to match the fabric

Sewing needle

Straight pins

Black jewelry beads

To make:

·         Cut around the calavera leaving at least ¾ of an inch around the design.

·         Use that as a template to cut out 2 pieces of the black cotton fabric and 1 piece of the quilt batting the same size and shape.

·         Stack 1 piece of black cotton fabric, then the quilt batting, then the calavera (with the right side showing). Pin these three layers together around the edge with the straight pins.

Black cotton fabric

Quilt batting

·         Using the sewing needle, quilt around the eyes of the calavera adding a bead as often as you’d like. You could completely cover the eyes with beads, if you really wanted to!

·         **Don’t worry about the back of your work. It will be covered up by the second piece of black cotton fabric!

·         Remove the pins from the stack and add the second piece of black cotton fabric OVER the calavera.  Pin this in place. You will have black cotton on the front and the back of the piece at this point.

·         Using either a sewing machine or your needle and thread, sew around the outside edge of the piece. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN OPENING TO TURN THE PIECE RIGHT SIDE OUT!

·         Turn the piece right side out.

·         Using your sewing needle and a contrasting color of embroidery thread (I used red), whip stitch around the outer edge folding in the opening you left to turn the piece.

·         VOILA!! You now have a quilted calavera!

I added a magnet to the back of this with hot glue, but you could add a grommet and make it a key chain, or you could make it a “patch” by sewing it onto a bag or purse.