This morning I headed out to the post office to ship some orders. I used my roomie Beach Bag from Sewing Green to corral all of my packages. It’s made from a set of 4 placemats I found at the thrift store. This version also uses one of my favorite things for bag handles: Karate belts!
Why do I love karate belts so much? They are cheap, come in lots of colors, they are nicely made and evenly stitched, and they are padded! I find a lot of them at the thrift store for 50 cents to a buck a piece. This one was long enough make both handles and go all the way around the bottom of the bag, about 104″ long.
Tonight I am packing another bag: my suitcase. I am flying out tomorrow afternoon to shoot two craft segments for the TV show “Cultivating Life” on WGN America. I’m pretty excited about it because one of the projects I will be showing is made from my new organic fabric! (The teeny tiny bummer: the show doesn’t air until next summer!) Meanwhile…I’m trying not to think about the actual TV camera part. Eeeps. Hopefully the whole trip will be one exciting whirlwind and I’ll be back to tell you about it later this week!
Speaking of my fabric, thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement! It really means so much to me.
loving your bag! & I can’t wait to work on a project from your book. congrats on the tv appearance!! have fun!! you’ll do great!!! 😉
love the bag B – and all its parts! clever lady. good, good luck! we’ll talk soon.
great project; placemats? really? you’re a genius !
Love the new look of your blog – I’ve just been reading your posts via Google Reader so haven’t had a chance to actually swing by. I love everything, your placemat bag and your new fabric line – divine!!!
Love the bag! What a clever idea to use a karate belt! Good luck with the taping.
Love the karate belt idea! So great!
Karate belts – great idea!! 🙂 And I am a big fan of transforming placemats into bags…
That bag is so cute and clever. Have fun with your tv spot. You’ll be great.
ooooh, I love the karate belt idea! I have a drawer full of them from my son’s karate years. I guess I should check with him first though….
I have been using Karate belts for bags for a time now, and wow, I’m not the only one!!!!
I must find another word for clever… surely you must get tired of hearing it!
(and I posted too quickly)
Also, good luck with your shoot! How exciting for you- safe trip and happy crafting.
Pure Genius! Who would have guessed karate belt? I didn’t see that one coming! It makes the project seem a lot more doable for a beginner like myself.
I am making a bag…..suppose to be 94 degrees today!
Kind of funny….have to inside during ugly winter days and now I might be inside again this afternoon becauuse it is too warm!
At least I’ll have something to do.
My daughter and I made a raised pie plate full of cupcakes….ours are different sizes…..yours always look the same size…maybe we need more practice.
To display them for her 4-H project we are going to put them on a raised glass pie plate….will look very pretty!!
You are so genius, karate belts? Who would have thought?! (You!). I love the idea. I was looking at that bag in your book yesterday, but I actually ended up making the big flower pillow for my bedroom, I’ll post it soon. Have a great trip!
It’s a cute bag! ANd it’s a very nice idea to carry on the boxes to the postal office 🙂
Fabulous bag, I am going to have to try my own version.
You are going to do just fine taping your shows, looking forward to seeing them. Just be your delightful self and you can’t go wrong. 🙂
OMG! I have been collecting my kids’ karate belts for JUST that purpose. They just sing out to be used like that don’t they. I’ve also been collecting canvas belts or woven belts to use as bag handles. But I like that the Karate belts can go all the way around the bag. Very cool.
I think one of those packages is coming to me…oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! PS. I LOVE the new organic print line.
A placemat bag – love it! Have a great time at the shoot – safe travels.
Funny thing! My sister was just returning my old karate belts from childhood classes to me. I was wondering what to do with them, and now I know!
Wow, the karate belt idea is so creative! You never stop with the great ideas. Thanks for being so inspirational!
I love the karate belt idea! I am definitely using that idea!
Karate belts!!! Just about the most genius thing I have come across in a while. Of to scour the thrift shops.
I can honestly say that this bag with karate belt handles is one of the most awesome ideas I’ve seen in a long time. I love seeing how people take one item that is used for something completely different and incorporate it into something new. The coolest thing about it is that Karate belts come in so many different colors that you could make hundreds of variations of this same purse. If you are looking to purchase some unique karate belts to make these purses, check out KarateMart.com.
Love your tote. I just thrifted an awesome set of placemats that need tote-ized