Last night, I was feeling bored and crafty and still obsessing over my Sherlock inspired dress from Gold Bubble Clothing. When my sister asked if I wanted to join her in a late night trip to Wal-Mart for some things, I started browsing the craft aisles. I spotted felt squares in an elegant black and white pattern similar to Mr. Holmes’ wallpaper and I knew what I wanted to create: a Sherlock Clutch Purse. I picked up all the necessary supplies right there and then for less than $20. Here’s what I needed:
- $10.00 – Thick, boxy wallet
- $0.97 – Felt Square (I bought 4, just in case, but only used 1)
- $2.47 – Loctite Super Glue
- $4.94 – Krylon Spray Paint in ‘Sun Yellow’
Before starting the project, I made my own smiley face stencil out of some water color paper (any sturdy paper or card stock will work.)
After cutting the felt square win half, I roughly measured each piece with each side of the wallet to get an idea of how much to trim. Once I felt comfortable with how much fabric I was working with, I began glueing the fabric to the wallet starting at the the bottom and stretching it to the top. Then, much like wrapping a present, I glued the sides while folding the corders in.
Once the fabric was attached on all sides and the glue had dried, I was ready to spray the smiley face on. I attached my stencil and made sure the rest of the wallet wasn’t exposed either. I sprayed on one coat, let dry, then, sprayed on another coat. Of course, the felt absorbed the paint quickly and I spray quite a bit of paint each coat.
I like the outcome! I’m not too bothered by the imperfections (mainly, the less than perfect edges and sloppy looking smile.) Next time, and I do believe I will be making another one of these in the future, I’ll know how to improve upon its construction. Most important amendment: making the smiley face stencil thinner to take into account the spreading of the paint on the fabric.
Glueing the fabric to the wallet took the most time but I managed to start and finish this totally Sherlockian Clutch Purse in less than the time it took me to watch The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story on Lifetime. (Did anyone fact-check Screetch’s “memories”?)
Thanks for reading! If you make your own Bored Purse (headband, shorts, sneakers, whatever) I’d love to see! Great things can sometimes manifest out of boredom. Love, GK
Ginger Kate 
