Revamped Old Lady Purse

Ok, so it's not really doll-related, but here is what I've been up to. This last week, I was given an old lady purse by a friend at work. The purse was sort of brown orange and not anything to look at, but it had good bones. I spent part of Sunday experimenting on the bag with different kinds of paints and textures.

I used Adirondack alcohol ink in 'ginger' for the body of the bag. I squirted it out onto a felt dobber and applied until the leather had a darker, ruddy sort of look. Then I made some appliqués from my stash of ultrasuede. I like chubby birds, so that's the shape I went with. At first, I tried sewing the pieces on, but the bag wasn't having it. So, I sewed around them and then glued them on with fabric glue.

Finally, I used some chocolate-colored fabric paint by Jacquard and two q-tips to make little polka dots for the body of the bag. It turned out pretty cute and didn't cost a thing. I think I will invest in the next old lady purse I see at a yard sale.