Crafty Loops

 Handmade Reusable Shopping Tote/Bag - upcycling vintage fabrics Whatabout ye folks, it's Lee here.  Remember when I shared the wee Peter Rabbit tote with you all and I said that I'd like to make it so there was some sort of closure on it for folding up and storing?  Well, I did just that.  I came across a tutorial over on YouTube, Rosie's Art Studio , where she shared how to make her Eco-Friendly shopping bag .  This is a big tote but it is actually the perfect size for a shopping bag. And it folds into such a compact size too.   And I have so many beautiful vintage fabrics that I like to upcycle into really useable, functional pieces.  So, with my vintage fabrics in hand, off I went and made 2 of these bags.......to start with, teehee. The bag opens up really big and is perfect for carrying all your shopping bits & bobs.  It has a really large gusset base which means when the bag has items in it, the base opens out nice and wide to maximise on space. Now, when Rosie

Another Peter Rabbit handmade handbag - my own Design  Whatabout ye folks, it's Lee here.  Back to share another one of my handmade handbags using my own design.  Now, do not adjust your screens, I realise that this bag looks pretty identical to this one .  That first bag, our wee Mamma fell in love with so I gave it to her and she's using it as her "Summer bag".  But my Aunt saw it and got a little emotional over it.  So, my wee Mamma asked if I would make another one for my Aunt. I know it looks identical, but it actually has some marked differences and if I'm honest, this is probably the best one I've made yet. On this bag, I decided to go with a mottled faux leather (all product details are below in my shopping list).  I also did a completely different pattern for the quilting and used black thread instead of the blue.  You will never guess where I got the design for this quilting from!  I saw a YouTube short where someone was making really cool patterned

 Peter Rabbit - Handmade reusable tote shopping bag - Quick make Whatabout ye folks, it's Lee here.  Just popping in with a very quick make today.  Summer in Northern Ireland started off with a scorching bang in the middle of June.  But sadly, as quickly and fierce as the hot sunny weather arrived with us, it quickly disappeared.  And we have had nothing but windy, rainy, gloomy days here ever since. July was the gloomiest and rainiest since records began.  Look at us breaking records for all the wrong reasons, lol.  The old "Norn Iron" tan is fading with the sun. teehee. I tell you though, this gloomy and extremely windy weather does nothing for your mood.  The poor trees around us have no idea what's going on and with the strong winds, are already shedding leaves like it's the Autumn.  But sure, what do I expect really, living in Northern Ireland?  Lol.....we can't do anything right. teehee. This is a really fast and easy project to make up.  Plastic bags ar

 Another handmade bag using my own pattern - Handmade Peter Rabbit Handbag Whatabout ye folks, it's Lee here.  Back with another handmade bag using my own pattern.  This time, I used a gorgeous fat quarter fabric from a Peter Rabbit bundle I found on Ebay.  My brother keeps telling me that I should be selling my bags but so far, I've just been giving them away to family members or using them myself, lol.  This bag is happily in the hands of our wee Mamma and she loves it. I used my same favourite sky blue faux leather (link below) but this time I wanted to do something a little more special with this faux leather and Peter Rabbit fabric.  I think the thing that was missing from it was some texture.  So, I found a fabulous tutorial on YouTube from Lavender & Twine Patterns showing a particular quilting pattern on the Alice Shoulder Bag , by Ora Rosa Patterns .  As soon as I saw the design, I instantly fell in love with it.  And in true Crafty Loops fashion, I thought to my

 Handmade Tinkerbell Handbag/Purse - The Boronia Bowler Bag by Blue Calla Patterns Whatabout ye folks, it's Lee here.  I have a few things to say about this bag so, buckle up Buttercup, cause this is gonna be a doozy of a blog post, teehee. I completely forgot to share this bag that I made quite a few months ago.  It is another Boronia Bowler bag from Blue Calla Patterns .  I had a couple of fat quarter bundles from Disney's Tinkerbell knocking about in my stash and I wanted to use them in a bag.  The fat quarters just fit this pattern so I was delighted when I was able to use them.  And if I am being honest, the fat quarter was maybe 1/2 inch too short for the actual pattern, but the pattern actually uses a good bit of overlap between the fabric and faux leather, so that 1/2 inch of fabric that I didn't have would have been hidden behind the faux leather anyway, so technically it was waste that wouldn't have been seen.  So, I managed to make my 2 fat quarters work w