Sew Powerful Purses 132-133 (2025)

Here are 2 purse flaps using all kinds of scraps, covered in a blue embossed tulle and quilted and some added buttons. Donating to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

A fabric with a bee and the butterfly is part of the embossed tulle.

Another bee. June is Bee Challenge on the Sew Powerful Facebook Group.

Front slip pockets.

Back slip pockets.

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Sew Powerful Purse 131 (2025)

May's purse theme challenge on the Sew Powerful Facebook group was Butterflies. Each month there is a challenge, just for fun. June's theme is Bees. 3 of my butterfly purses that I made in the past were featured on the post announcing this challenge. We can add our challenge purses anytime to the album in the group, so I will add this one there now as I recently got it finished.

The fabric I used for the body is the same home dec fabric I used for the purses I posted yesterday.

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Sew Powerful Purses 129-130 (2025)

I was playing and experimenting again. I had seen a technique using a paper napkin that was added to paper or cloth and I wanted to try it. A plastic food wrap was ironed on over the napkin and fabric and somehow it fused together. That looked great, so I bought some napkins and clear food wrap and tried it. Utter failure! Nothing fused at all. The plastic wrap melted. I did cover the piece with a pressing sheet so it wouldn't make a mess when pressing. 

I saw a another way to adhere the napkin and tried it with the flap with balloons. I used Mod Podge fabric formula. It worked, but it wasn't perfect. I coated over the balloons too so it has a sort of vinyl feel and makes it more permanent as well. Need more practice to get better at it.

The napkin with Farm Fresh Flowers on it, I decided to just use iron on vinyl (Pellon brand) and it worked too, although it is a bit stiffer than the Mod Podge. 

On both flaps I used a light canvas material that I had added textured color to so it wasn't so stark white. The colored textures show through the napkins which I like. It was a fun experiment and I would like to perfect it with more practice. I was thinking I could use some fun decorative papers as well, although being thicker than a napkin the textured colors wouldn't show through and it might make for a stiffer flap, so playing with scraps first I would see what I think.

If you Google this technique, you will also find there are lots of gorgeous paper napkins for sale as well, but rather pricey for just a few paper napkins. I went to Dollar Tree and found these for $1.25 a package and often there are more than one image per napkin too. I got 4 of the same image on each Flower napkin, one image of the balloons, but the rest of the napkin had borders of stars that could be used too. I watched a few videos and in the end did my own thing as the plastic wrap didn't work for me. Maybe my iron was too hot? Maybe because I painted the textures on the fabric the plastic wrap didn't want to adhere? More experimenting required for sure.

These turned out rather well for a first attempt.

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Sew Powerful Purses #125-128 (2025)

4 more purses made with selvages to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

Small panel squares in the center with selvages sewn all around the flaps.

Light canvas fabric for the purse bodies.

Added back slip pockets too.

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Seed Packets Quilt Top

I made the blocks for this years ago and finally added a couple simple borders. I donated this top to Wrap the World With Quilts recently. A volunteer will quilt it.

I forgot to measure this top, but it is about 36" x 49".

Seed packets with courthouse steps strips.

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Sew Powerful Purses #120-124 (2025)

5 more selvage flap purses finished. I used a light canvas fabric for the purse bodies. Donating these to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

I started with a small panel from a fabric for the center. Using up selvages for a scrappy look.

The front pockets and flap lining.

All the backs look like this with the added pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purses #115-119 (2025)

More of the appliqué house blocks turned into purse flaps. I used the green print home dec fabric for the bodies that I showed the other day with selvage flaps.

Donating to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

Appliqué houses with fabric scraps surrounding the block.

I was given a stack of cut squares in what look like African print fabrics and I made the patchwork flap using them.

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