The Curvy Clutch goes glam!

Hello everyone! I'm a bit of a late arrival to posting on this blog, but better late than never (and it's still before Christmas!). My name is Suzie and I blog over at Su Sews So-So, do pop over sometime and say hi - I love hearing from everyone.

I had actually decided not to make anything handmade as presents this Christmas after a rather upsetting experience of spending lots of time and money on a present for a friend that was quite obviously not appreciated. I had blogged all about it at the time, but have since deleted the post as I didn't like having such a negative post up on my blog! Plus, I've had my faith restored in humanity (lol, a little over dramatic perhaps?!) and I decided that I would try again at giving handmade.

My group of friends opt to do Secret Santa for presents - if you haven't heard of this concept before you basically put all the names of your group in a hat and the name you pull out is who you buy a present for. You also tend to sent a limit to spend, so that everyone spends the same amount. It's a great way to save money and time and it means you are more likely to get one 'big' present that you (hopefully!) like rather than lots of little small things that might just be 'crap' (!!).

This year I got my lovely friend Meliosa (pronounced Mel-Lisa, it's Irish) and I knew she would be the perfect person to make a Curvy Clutch for. I had previously made the Curvy Clutch for myself (pattern here) out of red and black Ikea fabric and it really was quite a hit with everyone, especially her - so I thought she deserved her own version!

I found a beautiful red dupion reduced to a bargain £4 a meter so I snapped that up and paired it with a gorgeous gold print my mum had given me and made up the bag. I was very happy with the finished result, but I felt it lacked a little something. So after a scout around the shops I decided to add a flower hair-clip to the lid, and it really transforms the bag into something quite glamorous!

I took the finished bag to my mums to show her and she promptly produced a gorgeous pair of newly purchased red heels which she plans to wear out for NYE...and didn't have a bag for..... Now what on earth could she have been getting at?! So, the good daughter that I am, I suggested she keep this bag and I make another one for my friend.

So back to the sewing machine I went! To be honest, I had been having reservations about the gold lining as I remembered that Meliosa never wears gold jewellery, so it turned out for the best that I could make another one in more suitable colours. So she will be getting this:

This is a gun-metal dupion shell with a satin dupion royal purple lining. The photo's don't quite do the colours justice unfortunately.

I hope she likes it!

Thanks for letting me post here, it's been great fun seeing what everyone has been making - what a great idea Tilly! Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a very crafty 2011!!!