I’ve been seeing these really cute blinged out straw handbags. Everywhere. Some of them have tassels or pom poms, which I absolutely love. Pom poms are so whimsical, practically anything they are used on make it instantly happy and carefree. The only drawback to these straw bags are the price. I really don’t want to spend upwards of $40-$50 on a summer bag. Most especially when I know how to make one for about half the price. I’ve been itching to get my hands on a project and the timing was perfect for this Do-It-Yourself craft.
A couple of weeks ago, I bought a feminine, lightweight off-the-shoulder summer top in a light pink color but with definite peach undertones. It’s a really hard color to wear because it can wash you out. But I loved it and took a risk and bought it anyway. It’s the type of top that can only be worn in the warmer months due to the fabric and the style. It was calling for the perfect summer accessory that would elevate it. I basically needed something to complement the top in the same color and that also had a similar look and feel.
I thought about the top and the blinged out straw handbags and decided that they needed each other. One of the things that people don’t know about me is that I do everything for a reason. It may not be obvious at the time (which makes my husband wonder about me), but nonetheless, I have my reasons. This project was very specially about finding a way to wear my new top and carry a fun and flirty straw handbag this summer. Ready to see how I did it?
| here you can see the tassels in action |
To begin, I bought a fairly inexpensive straw handbag via amazon.com for $21.00. The one I ordered came with a faux flower that I removed. I headed to a local fabric store and browsed their line of pom poms and tassels. I was originally was going to use pom poms, but I saw this beautiful tassel fringe and I like the idea of a little flirty movement that you get with tassels. I also knew that the fringe would mimic the details in the top and help subtly tie everything together. I bought enough to wrap the bag twice (go big or go home) and it cost something like $5 or $6 dollars.
How to Make a Blinged Out Straw Handbag
With materials in hand, I fired up my glue gun and got to work. Below are the step-by-step photos, I hope you are inspired to bling out your own bag!
Supplies:
- Straw bag
- Enough fringe or pom-pom fringe to go around the bag once or twice depending on your preference
- Hot glue gun, extra glue sticks
- Scissors
- Tape
| begin with a plain straw bag |
| determine if you want one or two rows of fringe |
| the fabric store should have done this already, if not, apply a piece of tape on the end of the fringe to prevent it from fraying |
| using a hot glue gun, apply the glue on the bag and carefully, but firmly press the fringe into the glue |
| here is a close up view of the end of the fringe with the tape on |
| measure about 1 inch longer than you need to meet the ends, and fold over the end and glue down |
| here is the bag with one row of fringe |