Purse with Pocket Tutorial

Hi there paper crafting friends!  It’s Michelle Starcher, aka the Bookish Designer, popping in on the blog to walk you through the steps to create Lori’s Purse with Pocket  (SVG, Silhouette). In this photo tutorial, I will break down the steps to create this super cute project for all those purse lovers out there.  I used papers from Lori’s All-Girl collection from Echo Park Paper Co.  I just love the colors in that collection!

After uploading the SVG file to the Cricut Design Studio, I needed to make a few changes, so that it would cut correctly with my Cricut Maker. Below you will find the steps I took to prepare the file for cutting.

1. Ungroup the SVG file.
2. Ungroup any portions that have cut/score marks. I had to do this for the purse base, the front pocket, the purse handles, and the handle attachment pieces.
3. Attach the cut/score marks to the main image. Again, I had to do this for the purse base, the front pocket, the purse handles, and the handle attachment pieces.
4. Once you are done attaching all of the cut/score marks, you are ready to cut your project pieces.  When I sent my pieces to my Maker, I was informed that the purse base exceeded 11.5″ and that I would need to resize or use a 12×24″ cutting mat.  Luckily, I had a mat and cardstock in that size.  If you don’t, you may need to resize your project before starting.  If so, resize before you ungroup the SVG to make sure that all of the elements keep their proportions.

After cutting all of the project pieces, I folded all the pieces with cut/score marks.  Then I adhered the floral paper to the purse base and pocket as shown.  Make sure you line up the holes for the straps on the front and back panels.  I placed a small amount of adhesive along the edges of the purse base and pocket and assembled those pieces.

Once the purse is assembled, it is time to add the handles.  You will need 8 mini brads to attach the handles.  I started with the “metal” pieces that attach to the base of the purse, and then added the handles.

I attached the front pocket, using a slightly larger brad on the pocket.  I used a small piece of Velcro to the pocket and the flap, so that it could be opened and closed (you can also use a glue dot)   After the front pocket was attached, I added the flowers to the purse handle.  To assemble the flower, stack the three flowers, slightly off centered from the other flowers.  Then stack the three starbursts and adhere to the stacks of the flower.  Attach the leaf to the back of the flower, and then adhere the entire flower to the purse strap.

I hope you enjoyed making the Purse with Pocket  (SVG, Silhouette) as much as I did! I’ve been wanting to make this project since I saw it a couple of weeks ago.  Now, I can’t wait to fill this purse with gift cards and little trinkets for my best friend.  Do you think she’ll like it?

Until next time,

Michelle