Our Hopeful Home: May Flowers (DIY Thrift Store Rosette Purse Tutorial)

We've all heard the saying "April showers bring May flowers." Well, we're in the midst of showers all right. But I'm ready for the flowers NOW. So I nudged Spring's arrival, in my house anyway, just a little bit.

I'm ready for fun and sun and a little bit o' Springtime.

I've been swooning over flower purses for such a long time, I look and I look, and keep thinking, can I make one of these myself? Here are a few I found today on Etsy.

Love the tulle and pearls. Etsy shop here.

Love the feathers and the POP of blue. Etsy shop here.

Love the bling. Etsy shop here

And a few commercially made purses also caught my eye.

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Okay, so maybe I can't quite recreate THAT yet. But I AM trying to hone my rosette-making skills. I figure once I get the rosette down, I'll move on to more elaborate flowers.....

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Don't you just love this? I think it screams Springtime!

Today I thought I'd share my Goodwill rosette purse re-do with you. Here's what you'll need:

Purse

I picked up mine at Club G.W. for $4.99. It was just plain enough and pink enough for this {Springy}project.

Fabric

I picked up fabric remnants on clearance at Jo-Ann's. The amount of fabric you need will vary depending on your rosette size preference and how many rosettes you want to make.

Glue gun and glue sticks

I can not tell you how many times I BURNED MY FINGERS doing this! AM I the only one? Ouch! I clearly need more practice with the glue gun.

You'll start out by making small cuts at the base of your fabric and then ripping it into strips.

I made the strips approximately 1 1/2 inches wide and anywhere from 18 to 21 inches long. Vary the length of the strip to vary to size of the flower. Try out a few and see what size works best for your project.

Now take your strip and fold it in half lengthwise.

Then fold over a corner of the already folded strip into a triangle shape.

REALLY FUZZY PHOTO ALERT!!!!!!!!!

Sorry.......

Here you can see I used an altogether different fabric which I later decided not to use. But the principle's the same ~ you need to fold the strip in half lengthwise AGAIN.

Here you see the almost finished flower. Once you've gotten the inner circle going, start gluing every inch or so until you get to the little "tail" at the end like you see in the picture. Just fold that over the back of the flower and secure it with glue to hide it out of the way.

The front of the purse I used measures 12 1/2" by 7 1/2". I used 6 pink rosettes and 8 brown rosettes for a total of 14. The rosettes themselves measure approximately one inch across, give or take. The good news is that they don't have to be perfect! Fraying = good. Different sizes = good. A few clumped in a bunch or some set out in a pattern = good.

I really wanted to add some vintage bling to the middle of the rosettes. But when I tried it, it just didn't look quite right with this bag. Guess I'll have to make another one, then!

Overall I'm quite happy with it and can't wait for spring to kick in full force. How about you?

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a great week!

xoxo