Hidden Treasures... both inside & out!!

Just a quickie Show & Tell for today... I recently had the opportunity to join in the fun & challenge of another swap on AFA... Amulet Bags. These wonderful little purses are designed to wear as a necklace carrying a small treasured item, they can be made from a plethora of materials and in just as many different styles! After considerable thought, I chose to create small suede pouches that required no sewing and can be finished off with embellishments of your choice.

As I mentioned previously, no sewing skills are needed to create these fun and simple little pouches. 

Below: Tools & Materials needed... an awl or ice pick, a block of wood or other soft material to use as a backing for poking into... Suede or leather of your choice and some kind of cording such as rawhide, braided leather or fibers to make the necklace strap ( approximately 1 yard). 

Below: Pattern Template... cut one for each pouch out of the suede... use your awl & block to poke holes where shown on the template. To attach the cord, start with the 3rd from left of the 4 holes across the top row of holes... bring the end of your cord through the back using about half of your cord, next... continue around the circle weaving in & out of all the holes until the last hole (next to the one where you started), it should be going out the back along side the cord tail remaining from the start-up. Hold both ends of the cord and gently pull to start the suede pouch to pucker & close up... cord can be pulled & adjusted to even them up to the same length and can then be knotted together to form the necklace. The pointed part of the pattern then forms a flap to cover the opening. Hope I didn't lose you along the way... sometimes the easiest thing sounds complicated when you try to describe it!! Trust me, it is soooo easy, jump in & give it a try!!

6 1/2" Overall Height - Circle 4 1/2" Diameter

Once you have your completed pouches, you can let your imagination & creativity run loose and embellish them in any number of ways!!  For me, it was a no-brainer... I have an over abundant supply of beads from past projects that I can't ever seem to downsize!! 

My Bead Stash - this is just one layer of my box!!

Unfortunately, these old hands don't cooperate as they once did, but nonetheless, I continued to forge on! I managed to make some simple beaded "cabs" to attach to the flaps as a focal point and a little fringe at the points to finish my designs. 

Voila... my interpretation of Amulet Bags!

Well, I hope you found a bit of inspiration today?!

Thank you for stopping by, Until next time...

Happy Arting!!