A Heartfelt Purse and a matching 5th Birthday Card!

This month Eileen Hull's Creative Team will be posting their creations using Eileen's Heart Felt Dies and Kunin Felt.  They will be gathered over at Eileen's blog each week.

My little grandniece, Mila, is turning 5 in August - and she just LOVES all of her little purses where she keeps ALL of her special treasures - so I knew I wanted to make Mila a little shoulder bag!  I also made her a matching personalized card

Here's how I made them:

First the shoulder bag!

I die cut the house frame with the stitch holes out of pink Kunin Felt twice from Eileen's House Pocket Stitchlits set.  I cut off the roof part of one of the cuts to use as the front of the purse.

I used a blanket stitch all the way around the edges including the single layer of the top. (You tube has lots of videos on how to do the blanket stitch - here is one.

I wanted the closing to be strong since this is going to a 5 year old (!) so I hand sewed a snap on (rather than Velcro which can also be used)

Here it is unadorned and snapped closed!

After I put it together - I decided I should have put her name somewhere on the purse - it would have been easier to do this before I put it together - but it worked out ok.    I used Eileen's Word Stitchlits which just happen to have all the letters for Mila's name within the words of the dies.  So I die cut the words on a piece of white card.

and then cut out the MILA and laid them over the back of the purse - trying to space them evenly!

Then I marked the dots with a Sharpie pen.

And used a back stitch with the embroidery thread -  it was easy to reach inside the purse since the letters were located towards the middle of the back piece.

(Oops!  I didn't quite get the A spaced properly but that's ok - it's handmade!)

I had this funky twisted pink/blue/white yarn in my stash and thought it would make the perfect shoulder strap for this little purse -  I simply glued the ends inside the purse on each side.  I may try to put a little stitch on it - but it seems to be held quite firmly with the glue.  I put the clothespins on to hold it all together tightly while the glue dried.

I used more of the Kunin felt to cut the bird from Eileen's Birds and Butterflies Thinlits.

The hearts are part of the House Pocket die set.  I glued all the pieces onto the front of the purse, added a black pearl eye to the bird and pink rhinestones to the hearts.

I added three more hearts (without rhinestones) to the back around her name.

 And now onto Mila's personalized card.

I used Eileen's Mailable Frame die (on sale while supplies last!) for my card base so the card will stand up nicely on it's own!  I left the frame cut-out piece in the front (outline just seen on right side below) and covered it with paper on the outside to hold the piece in place.  (see photo below this one)

I used 2 pieces of patterned paper from Eileen's new Heartfelt Paper Pad to cover the front and back.  It looks like one sheet here -  but this is the front and back of the Frame card so each piece starts in the middle and each faces the opposite way!  

I cut another bird, a butterfly, and a branch using Birds and Butterflies and the flower from House Pocket from the Kunin Felt to decorate the front - see how the paper matches the die cuts??!!    I stamped the Happy Birthday, added a die cut 5 stamped with 'th' and printed her name with my Brother Label Maker.  I added black pearls to the butterfly, flower and bird.   I put foam dots under the wings of the butterfly to hold them out and glued along the center of the body.

I adhered a different page from the Heartfelt Paper Pad to the inside and printed this note with my Brother Label Maker.

Mila loves to color so she will enjoy the fact she can color on her own card!

And here's the back - with more images to color!

Now I just have to wait until August to see how Mila enjoys her gifts!

Be sure to check out Eileen's blog for more inspiration from the Creative Team using these fun new dies and Kunin felt!

Stamps:  happy birthday from Studio Calico Limited Edition,  th from Karen Foster Snap Stamps - retired.
Paper:  White Little Sizzles Matboard - Sizzix, Heartfelt Paperpad - Eileen Hull/Sizzix, Simply Chartreuse - Papertrey Ink.
Ink:  Archival Jet Black
Accessories:  House Pocket Stitchlets Die, Birds and Butterflies Die, Word Stitchlits, Mailable Frame Die - Eileen Hull/Sizzix,  Kunin Felt - Pink, Aqua, black and Olive, Snap Fasteners, Black Sharpie Marker, embroidery thread and needle, Rhinestones and Black Pearls - Kaiser Craft, yard from stash,  #5 die - Papertrey Ink, Brother Label Maker, foam dots, Tombow liquid glue.