...buds, the remains of an old pumpkin, & a DIY fix....

“Spring will be here before we know it,” I whisper to myself. Today was a chilly day albeit sunny. This week I have been looking for signs of life. It’s coming.

 

My fella says that he knows that he’ll lose me soon… to the outdoors. Once the weather is warm enough, I’m gardening and sitting outside on the patio as often as I can.

But for now, it’s a bit too cold to be outside sitting.

There are some new buds on the azalea and rhododendron bushes. And, well, I have the remains of a pumpkin who was placed in the backyard for him to return to the earth… which he decided to do on his own time :p

Today’s DIY project:

 I bought a sparkly bat “cross body” bag but the strap was much too short for it to actually cross my body. Was this meant for a child? Maybe. Shrug. The fabric was cute and I thought it would be the perfect size for quick errands.

First attempt

My first solution to lengthen the strap was to add a bracelet. After further inspection, I realized that the strap is too thin for the contents I’ll most likely put in the bag. I’m not very nice to bags. 

My second solution is one that worked but would require a bit of a project. I wanted to add grommets to attach another strap. I planned to use one of the straps from my Harvey’s Seatbelt bags because those babies are built to last! “Why don’t you just buy a Harvey’s cross body bag”, you ask? Simple- they don’t have bat fabric *anymore*. I went to the local Michael’s to pick up grommets only to discover that they didn’t have them. Instead, a sales associate recommended eyelets which I didn’t think would work at first but then I decided to add some key rings (key rings through the eyelets and then attach the handle to the key rings).  I think it turned out pretty great for my first time using a leather punch (which I figured would cut through fabric and it did), and setter tools. The bag was $20; the rotary punch was $10; the eyelet kit was $8; and the split keyrings were $2. Making the bag just right cost as much as the bag but then I'll also have the tools for later... and now I want to add eyelets to everything since they were super easy. 

 

My fella thinks the “after” looks a bit more industrial which is fine by me.