Sunday, March 28, 2010

Upcycled Bracelets



I bought this handbag at the thrift store a while back. I loved the color. The shape of the bag wasn't my style, but I knew I could do something else with it.
These are my creations.

Other than the bag the only supplies I needed were a few beads, a needle and thread.

My favorite thing about repurposing things is that most of the hard work is done for you. I was able to use parts that were already finished at the edges making my job easier.

Now I just have to decide which one to keep and which to give away.

Here is how I made them:

For the Flowery Bracelet:

I started by making a leather band for the base. I folded in the sides of the strip of vinyl, tucked under the edge and sewed it up the middle. I didn't use pins or an iron I just held it in place as I sewed.
Then I sewed seams up the sides to flatten it out.
To make the flowers I cut five petal shapes. With the right sides together I sewed around the curve. Then I flipped them right side out.
I hand sewed the petals together. Sewing long stitches and then pulling them tight created the gathering at the center.
After pulling it tight I sewed the two ends together to make the flower. I sewed it into place on the band and used a wood bead for the center.
To make the rosettes I just rolled up a small strip of vinyl and sewed it together. I sewed it up by running a my needle back and forth through the middle and bottom.
Once I had all my flowers in place I added more beads to fill in gaps. I tucked the ends under and stitched them up. I used a Dritz snap set for my fastener.

For the ruffled bracelet:
I started with a strip of vinyl. I folded in the sides, and sewed two long stitched seams down the center.
Then I pulled on the bottom (bobbin) threads. This creates the gathers. I gathered the band until it was the length of my wrist.


I cut out the the binding on the purse.

I then sewed it down the middle covering up the unfinished edges from the gather.
I finished the ends by sewing little strips of the vinyl on.
I attached this box clasp from an old necklace by sewing it into place.

For the braided bracelet:

I used the remaining three bindings from the purse to make this piece.
I lined them up and sewed the tops together.
I braided them and sewed the other end together.
Then I used this piece...
to finish off the ends.
The last step was sewing on a toggle clasp.
Here is a list of parties I link to.

86 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Those are pretty fantastic. You have great creative vision!

Mommy of Two 24/7 said...

These are amazing! So creative! :)

Charity said...

YOU BLOW MY MIND, I will never get rid of another purse. I am so glad we are Blog Friends, I always get excited when I see that you have a new post, it is my first stop on my computer time and you never disappoint. Hope you are having a great weekend.

Cha Cha

Marcia said...

Love them, Kalleen. I saw the braided one in the dish on your kitchen counter yesterday. Super cute. PS, I love hanging out with you. We should do something sometime. If you ever want to drive up here, we have a pretty awesome community pool.

Mary Beth @ Live. Laugh. Make Something said...

Fan-Freakin-Tastic! How clever are you?! ...job well done, girl!

Amie said...

What a great idea! They look amazing!

alicia said...

i dont normally wear large/chunky type jewelry, but i saw these and was fascinated. they are so neat!! very creative!! thanks for the wonderful ideas/tutorials!

the thrifty ba said...

brillant!!!

Sarah said...

Yippee Yippee Yippee! I'm so excited that you made it to the final two!!! Enjoy your week off, girl you've earned it!
-Sarah from Create Studio
www.createstudio.blogspot.com

Shawna said...

Oh...Em...Gee!

Those are amazing. Once you decide which one to keep...if you need help with who to give the other one to, I will HAPPILY volunteer. LOL! Amazing. I can't wait to get to the second hand store. Seriously. awesome. I love it.

Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple said...

WOW those are so fun! I love that color! I actually have a shirt that is that color, hint hint LOL. Thanks for the fabulous tutorial!

Connie said...

Well, that's just genius. I'm amazed and your awesome.

Jennifer said...

I LOVE the braided one! What a great idea to use an old purse!

Erynne said...

These were awesome! Please check out my blog for a little bit of sunshine i'm sending your way! Happy Monday!

MarvelouslyMessy said...

I don't usually wear jewelry, but I would wear any of those...ANYDAY. They are so fun and funky!!!!

Lynette said...

I'm loving all your projects...great job!!!

Angie Holden said...

Another home run!! Many thanks!

Kristin said...

Kalleen, these turned out great ;-)

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

Another winner of a project! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!


I hope I make it through the audition week on SYTYC! : ) Thanks for wishing me luck!

Patti @ Pandoras Box said...

I love these, but I have 2 questions: Was this a leather purse? and did you use a regular sewing machine and normal thread?

Rockin Momma said...

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Coupon Clippin Mommy said...

Wow that is awesome! I'm gonna be following your blog for neat ideas. Visiting from Marketing Monday.

Tonya said...

WOW!! Totally Amazing! I heart the flower the the most. I came here from a soft place to land...I'm gonna have to check out the rest of you blog.
Have a blessed day!!

Stephanie @ Minutes to Spare said...

Now that is really thinking outside the box. I so never would have thought of that. Love them!

Steph @ somewhatsimple said...

popping over from Tip Junkie-
this is amazing! you are so talented!

Lei said...

That is far too cool.

Sarah @ Hennessey House said...

HOLY CRAP. in case you didn't get the sheer awe and jealousy the first time, let me reiterate: holy crap. are you some kind of creative super-genius?! i think so.

trish said...

Oh my goodness! Those are way too cute!
What vision you have!
Sincerely ~ Trish

Kara Henry said...

Awesome, awesome idea! I love the fun and funky results. Must try this.

Mandy said...

These are AWESOME!! I always love a good repurposing!

Jill said...

What a fabulous idea! Thanks for explaining how you did it too! I'm going to try that sometime!

Jill

Jill said...

Wow, Love this! I would love for you to come link up over at my blog! I've got prizes :)
-Jill
http://womenwhodoitall.blogspot.com

Melissa said...

I love all of your crafts! You think of the most ingenious ways to repurpose items!

Laurie in SC said...

LOVE. What you're doing here!!! I can usually see possibilities in things, but I wouldn't have thought of this idea - how awesome! Thanks for sharing, now I think I need to hunt my closet for old handbags....

Come see me sometime at sceneofthegrime.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Fantastic and awesome idea! So amazing!!!

Nancy

Rachelle said...

So cute!!

Tracey @ My House of Giggles said...

Oh you are a complete genius! That's so fabulous!!! You had an amazing vision, and it totally worked :)
I love making something new out of something old/unused. I'm your newest follower :)

Tracey
myhouseofgiggles.blogspot.com

Koshy said...

fantastic..

xoxo
koshy
http://koshysblog.blogspot.com/

Cindy said...

These are amazing! LOVE them! I have soooo many bags under the bed in storage that really could use some cutting up and bringing them back to life!

One Cheap B*tch said...

Gorgeous! Very creative indeed!

Jeanine

Jenn said...

This is amazing. I'll look twice next time I find a $2 bag :)

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

That is one of the most clever things I have seen in a long time. BRAVO! Thanks for sharing!

Carolyn @ My Backyard Eden said...

Amazingly clever! Was the vinyl hard to sew through! They look amazing!

Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours day at My Backyard Eden!

Kami @ Sweet Charli... said...

Wow! Very cute! You are pretty professional! i love it! Thanks for liking up! Hope to see you again!!

Susan said...

Great re-purpose for the bag!

V and Co. said...

LOVE IT! and i'm rooting for you. you are amazing!
thanks for linking up to my site. if you ever want to be a guest blogger let me know! ;)

Kathleen @ Measuring My Life said...

Would have never seen the potential for all of those items in that purse - LOVE'M!

Paula@SweetPea said...

You are so clever! I love everything that you've created.

Steph @ somewhatsimple said...

I am featuring these on my sidebar all day Wednesday! Thanks for such a great idea!

Holly Lefevre said...

This is awesome - I have the perfect bag waiting to be made into something special!
Holly
504 Main

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Oh WOW! Cuffs are my favorite and these are so, so creative! I can't wait to try this! Thanks so much for sharing, I'll be linking to this.

Kayleigh said...

Wow, those are so awesome! I am jealous of your skills... :)

Kylie said...

Those are amazing! I might try my hand at making some...

Lenetta said...

WOW, I love how you were able to see past the bag to all these! I linked on my weekly roundup last weekend and am just now (yikes!) getting around to commenting. I'd love to be able to expand my crafty thinking part of my brain to do stuff like this someday! :>)

Janet Metzger, Artist said...

Two words...Fabulous..Fabulous!!!! You are one creative lady and I love it...;-)
your new blog buddy..Janet xox
The Empty Nest

PS...headed to my closet to get all my old handbags!!!

Joy Beadworks said...

oh my....please tell me it took 3 weeks to come up with all of these fabulous ideas!

Jennifer Juniper said...

I have a bag like this! What great ideas - you're so smart :)

Emelie said...

I just happened onto your blog, not sure how, but those bracelets made my jaw drop!!!!! You are amazing!
Love your blog and sweet attitude toward life and motherhood. You rock!

Lori P said...

This is simply amazing. You're incredibly talented. Bookmarking this tutorial, for sure.

beachy said...

I was just getting things ready for a tag (garage) sale. Think I better go back and save some of those purses I was going to sell.....thanks!

Debilou ~ Mississippi Mama said...

too dang cute,, I know this is an old post but I just found your blog.. those bracelets are amazing. U R so talented.

Moira said...

This was a fabulous idea! I had to salvage some purses from the donation box I'm filling up. When I found it last night, I was too tired to bookmark this page. Spent most of this evening scouring my history to find it again. Thanks for the inspiration, and keep being crafty.

Noelle said...

Just found you from Blue Cricket. This is amazing. I can't even imagine being that talented to 1: Think of all the creative uses for a bag and 2: Actually make all of those bracelets.

I am inspired.

srldesign said...

oh my heck! these are fantastic!!! I wanna rip apart an old purse now! they are seriously super cute, awesome job!

Women Leather Blazers said...

Great and interesting post. Keep it up.

Buy Leather Jackets,
Men Leather Blazers

Karen said...

Swoon! I think I'm in love with these!! :> I've hopped my way here from Elsie's A Beautiful Mess and am So glad I did! :>

allison said...

so gorgeous! I love the color too. i can't believe how easy you make it seem.

Danielle said...

I'm seriously amazed by these! What a fantastic mind you have to be able to see these gorgeous creations from a purse. Well done you, you have a new follower! xxx

Tiffany said...

wow. i love the purse before, and i love the purse after. do you happen to have any of leftovers from it?? :)

Corey said...

hmmm! I've been trying and trying to use this adorable turquoise "ruffled" purse I picked up at a thrift store, but like you said, the shape just isn't working for me. But it's so cute, I hate to just do away with it. You've got my brain working now-I hadn't even considered turning it into something else...!

glorys melo said...

amazing, so cretive!

andriani retno said...

oh i love those bracelets :D

Mens Leather Jackets said...

Really amazing upcycled bracelets handwork images, i really like to this post. very good post.

The Beading Gem said...

I am a handbag hoarder - I can't seem to throw them away. This is a super creative way to recycle them! Thanks for the inspiration. I will feature and link in a future blog post so others can come visit.

Pearl
http://www.beadinggem.com

hunt4anarnia said...

I find myself disappointed that you used a very stylish, quality handbag to create bracelets??? Up-cycling can truly be appreciated when one takes something that is actually ugly or damaged and turns it into something beautiful and functional. However, I will give credit where it's due your ingenuity and craftsmanship is lovely.

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims said...

These are all so beautiful! as far as the above comment...I think you can upcycle anything if you don't like it, it doesn't have to be ugly! I think your bracelets turned out great, and it's a much better use for the purse if you wouldn't have used it anyway!

Lindsay @ Delighted Momma said...

I LOVE this bracelet you created. I also think it is soo wonderful that reused an old purse!..love upcylced jewelry!

Delighted Momma

Anonymous said...

Oh, my, my! I have a huge canary yellow bag I bought a couple of summers ago because I love the color. I carried it for the season, but the cheap vinyl has some snags and scuffs so it's on the shelf in the I-should-get-rid-of-this section in my closet. I can't wait to cut it into it. There are about 10 rows of shirring that I can really have fun with.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Jan

virgo said...

Clap clap clap !
It's so beautiful !

Bises,
Virgo

ingen said...

Why buy a bag if it is not your style, it is mine f.ex. It was a fully useful and pretty bag and yes the color is awesome. Someone else could have bought it and used it for its primary purpose. You just massacred it for a couple of bracelets you're surely tired of by now. This is not upcycling trust me. Think better next time.

Jolene said...

this is so clever! I pinned this and your t-shirt hat tutorial to my pinterest boards :)

MiddleR3DD said...

So basically I love this! Way to go!

Paola said...

Great recycle idea!!
Amazing ;))

Jasmine said...

Holeee crap! Those are amazing! I am seriously amazed by your creativity!

Unknown said...

Thank You!!! I have this purse in my closet it is red croc which I bought when I lived in Australia. The handles are a bit worn from use. Now I know what to do with it..

Thanks,
Nancy

Unknown said...

OMG! these are amazing. Thanks for showing me how to rescue these great colored bags I find that have wear and tear.

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