Guest Post: Upcycled {no sew} Placemat Clutch - DIY

Given that it's my No Spend Month - I thought I'd wrestle up some awesome DIY projects for you. There's a good chance that most of you have this stuff at home, so it won't be hard for you to do this project. Brooke is a good friend of mine from high school and I am so honored she asked me to post this for her! You can find her bio at the end of the post - I highly recommend visiting her Etsy store!

In honor of Hilly G’s ‘No Spend’ month, I wanted to create a cool gift or accessory that could be done by anyone- no craft skills needed! I have seen something similar to this floating around the internet, but they all require some skills, and this comes out exactly the same and in less time.   

Materials needed 

• Fabric Placemat
• Fabric glue or sewing supplies (for more advanced crafters)
• Binder clips or paper clips
• Optional- embellishments, old pins, buttons or velcro

The placemat should be made out of some semi-stiff material.  The more synthetic the placemat is, the better it will be.  Also, probably the more ugly the placemat, the cooler it will look when you are finished.  (If you don’t have any yourself just ask a friend).  Grandmas also have old and super funky pins that would look great on the clutch and could be used instead of a closure to hold it closed. 

Step 1

Fold the placemat so that it is folded almost in thirds, but with a slightly short top.  I chose to leave 2 inches on my flap.  (I used a measuring mat so you could see, but you can eyeball it just as easily).  Press out the folds so they are nicely creased. 

Step 2

Place a nice thick bead of glue along the edges where the seam will be (or sew on your machine).  Place clips on top of where the glue is until dry. 

Step 3  

I had some Velcro strips at home, so I put that as the closure.  The best closure would be magnets or snaps from a craft store if you want to add a nice touch.

Step 4

Play around with different embellishments that you have to see what you like.  I had a strip of black ribbon, but that is not something that everyone has.  I looked around to see what kinds of things that I already had.   You’re going to laugh but-I found an old pair of panties with a really cool appliqué design and used that to make my purse pop.  

Brooke is a mother, wife, designer, entrepreneur behind Baby Bear Hugs.  She loves teaching and creating art. Re-Using materials and recycling is really important to her as well as the cornerstone of her new Upcycled clothing line.

You can find her creations that she makes with her sister at http://www.babybearhugs.etsy.com. Connect with her on Facebook and read about her life and crafting adventures on her new blog: http://babybearhugs.blogspot.com.