a belt and a purse

i drive past the d.i. at lease twice everyday. it is on my direct route to school, and is kiddie corner to the hospital. sometimes, if i have a few extra minutes on my way home, i stop in and look for treasures. i am not going to lie, i have brought home a few things with plans to fix them up and they never get touched... at least not until i gather them and bring them back for another someone's craft day.

a little while ago i came home with this:
a cute bag with awful wooden handles,

and it has been sitting around waiting for attention.
...

so today, after a rough morning of finals i decided to give this bag some love. i removed the handles and used an old belt to make a strap. and wah lah:

the braiding on the belt made it easy to hide most of the stitches on the outside...
this is the end of the belt that used to have the buckle attached.

i am still working on making my inside stitches pretty...

ooo, i love creating.
and i love this message from president uchtdorf!