Trash to Treasure

I decided to finish off my felt purse for tomorrow's Trash-to-Treasure contest at the Oregon State Fair. If I had more time, I'd love to embellish more and more, especially decorative stitching.





The purse and handles are made of wool sweaters from the thrift store which was felted in the wash. The handles are braided strips of the two felts with funky yarns braided with them. I added a found credit card case for an outside pocket and embellished with other found objects.



I wanted a more rustic closure, so used a chunky button and hand stitched button hole. The lining is made from a thrift store shirt.




I added a few buttons from my stash on the back










I made tags and hung them with funky yarns on one handle. One is a London vacation ad made into a transparency and words all from a 1952 National Geographic magazine. There is a recycle symbol on the back of the "Bargain and/or Priceless" tag. Both these tags were made in 1.5" square slides. I also made a metal tag from a pop can - the part that says "please recycle." There are also a few old dog tags.