Mod Podged Handbag TUTORIAL

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback on my bag! I loved reading all your comments!!
I did take pictures as I was making it (fotrunately!). So I’ll whip up a tutorial here. I might not have pictures of a couple steps, it was getting late and I think the Mod Podge fumes were getting to me. lol. 
If you have any questions, just let me know. I’d love to help out. And if you do make one, please send/post me a link. I would LOVE to see it!!!
Supplies Needed:
Pod Modge (I used glossy finish.)
Brush
Pencil/marker
Scissors
Cardstock or Heavy Paper- 1 sheet for accents, 3 sheets for body of bag (I had an extra sheet just in case) depending on how big your bag is, you may need more paper
First place your handbag on the back of your pattern paper. Press it flat against the paper and trace exactly around the handbag.
Then take your marker and draw around the traced outline of the handbag about 1″ around the entire outline. (you can see the faint pencil line)
Cut out along marker line. 
Next, my handbag has these cute little things at the bottom. Not sure what to call them, accents maybe?  
I measured around each side accent. (sorry for the fuzzy pic) They measured 1″ x 5.5″. So I cut two strips of paper 2″ x 9″ to allow for the curve. (I was thankful for the extra length later on.) 
Measure the bottom.
 Mine measured 3″ x 7″ so I cut a strip of paper 4″ x 8″.
Here’s all the pieces: 2 sides, 1 bottom, and 2 accents.
Slather on that Mod Podge.
Place one side on and mold around the purse. (Don’t do top part by the straps yet. The top is last.)
Wrap extra over the bottom.
Fold bottom corners like this and Mod Podge in place.
For the second side piece, fold the sides down 1/4″ so that it will have a nice finished look. Don’t fold the bottom part of the side piece. It will be covered up by bottom piece.
Put Mod Podge down the crease. Then apply side piece to the bag just like the first piece. Molding and holding as you go. The folded sides of the second side piece will cover the first side piece and give it a nice finished look. (see below)
Nice finished seam.
Both sides done. The top will be the last thing you do. 
Next we will do the accents on the bottom.
Take one accent piece and fold over one long side 1/4″ and Mod Podge in crease.
Place accent piece on bag, centered (I missed the centered step. oops!), folded side of the accent piece towards the top of bag. Mark where the bag corners are on the accent piece. (don’t Mod Podge to bag yet)
Snip where you marked the corners, about 1/2″ down or so.
Smear Mod Podge where the accent piece is going. Then place accent piece on bag with folded side towards the top again and fold around the bottom, kind of like a christmas present with sides first, then fold over the top flap. Finish Mod Podging in place.

Should look something like this (except yours will be centered…). Repeat accent steps with the other accent piece.
Next, take the bottom piece and fold over all edges 1/4″ and Mod Podge in crease.
Apply Mod Podge to bag and place bottom piece on. Yay! It should be taking shape now and looking awesome!
Now for the top. Snip about 1/4″ down all across the top. Apply Pod Modge to bag and work the slits around to fit the bag. You may need to cut more slits.
I recommend using clips or your hubby (haha) or something to hold the little slits in place as you go.
(After the mod podge dried, I used my hot glue gun to glue down a few of the slits that didn’t stick.)
All slits are done. This is where I forgot to take pictures. Sorry!! :) But what I did was I made a liner because, as you can see above, the slits are quite visible. To make the liner, I just traced the top of the bag again on the back of paper (no extra room needed), cut out, and mod podged to the inside. My liner was is only about 1-2″ deep but it covered up the slits. (My original bag’s liner was leather for several inches down, this is what I pod modged my new liner to. Not the fabric liner.) You can kind of see the liner I made in the picture below. After the mod podge dried, I coated the entire bag in mod podge.
After the outer layer of mod podge dried, I then hot glued a thin ribbon around the inside to hide the seam between the slits and the liner. This made it look a lot more finished. Also be sure to seal your bag so that it isn’t as sticky.
And there you have it. Your repurposed bag completely beautified! If you want to make a flower clip to go with it, click here to see how I did mine. Again, if you have any questions, just let me know. :)
Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

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