DIY Découpage Purse

Découpage is the craft of gluing cut outs onto another surface. When I saw this Découpage purse, I felt inspired to create something similar. The black purse I picked up from the 4th of July Spirit Lake Fair in the town park. The honest truth was I needed another black bag like I need a whole in the head. But, this black bag was different, and the stories it had experienced called to me as the vintage seller explained what a special bag it was. Heck, I was an easy sale. I got it along with a few other special vintage items as she’s my favorite stall at this annual fair; I beeline to each and every summer. With a little Pinterest fun, this bag seemed like it could use some découpage love.

1. Gather the supplies.

Any plastic based purse or even leather purse will work. Mod Podge is the perfect glue for découpage. A sponge brush will be best for adhering the glue–I actually picked this one up at Forever 21! Also, small, fine scissors are necessary for cutting out the desired items. Since I don’t have a red and black bag, I went with this color scheme. I looked for fabrics that had details that I would be able to cut out. The little butterflies from one scrap and the peonies from the other seemed like a perfect combination. All the items for this project–aside from the purse and the sponge brush–were purchased at JoAnn’s.

2. Carefully cut out the details.

I chose two scraps of fabric with details that I thought could be cut out: butterflies and peony flowers. Using small, sharp scissors is perfect for delicately cutting closely to the exact detail.

3. Glue on the details.

Once I had a substantial amount of cut out items, I arranged the items on the purse in a few varieties. When I found the arrangement, I liked, I left it as is, and began gluing on the cut outs. Basically I globbed a bunch of glue on the underside, attached it back to the purse, and then painted more glue down. Each cut out item has therefore been glued on twice from both sides.

4. Don’t worry how it looks wet.

Mod Podge glue is all white and gooey. But it doesn’t matter; once it dries it becomes transparent. It’s a water based glue, so when the decals had dried, I then cleaned up any glue leftovers with a wet cloth.

A DIY Découpage Purse added to my collection!

As the holiday season approaches, I think this is the perfect clutch for me to use with the hints of holiday red. And…maybe this easy DIY could become a thematic gift idea for the upcoming holidays.

If you have an old purse in your closet that’s getting neglected this is an easy way to provide it with some new life. Let me know if you want help….I’d be happy to figure out how!

*This post has been linked up to Turning Heads, Visible Monday, Monday Mingle, Fun Fashion Friday and Throw Back Thursday.