DIY: WHITE GOLD-STUDDED CLUTCH PURSE

Hello to all my lovely readers,

 I wanted to share this simple studded clutch purse project I did. Its my first DIY accessory so I am really excited about it. I made this clutch to go with my  Eid outfit. I wasn't about to spend a penny on a white hand bag, so I decided to make myself my very own personalized clutch. It was either that or show up to Eid celebrations with a white plastic bag. Ha ha. Okay just kidding, but I really liked the idea of making my own clutch, so I went for it. When I make my own stuff it always means so much more to me because of the fact that its not a store- bought item, but rather something I put my time and energy into making. So fulfiling. I mean hey, I'm the type of fashionista who would certainly love to have a new designer handbag for every occasion, but I'm just a creative person by nature, that's why I heavily engage in arts and crafts activities and tutorials. This particular project is a fun alternative to acquiring a brand new handbag, in this case a cute clutch. By simply utilizing old fabrics that I already own and a few studs I bought in town, I was able to easily create an original accessory piece in just a few simple steps. Its a really creative way to update my wardrobe in a cost-effective manner.

I used three types of fabrics:

1. A white stiff, netted fabric to line the inside of the bag. This would also serve to give the clutch its soft but rigid structure as opposed to being sloppy.

2. An off-white, soft but slightly stiff iridescent organza material for the clutch itself.

3. A white translucent lace-like material to cover the clutch to give it a bit of sexy classy feel.

STEP 1:

I used a sheet of newspaper to draw out the pattern of the clutch I wanted. Below you can see the exact dimensions I used for my clutch.

This is what my clutch would look like in terms of height and width. Satisfied, with the prospective clutch, I then proceeded to the next step.

STEP 2:

I used the newspaper pattern to cut out an exact pattern in all three fabrics.

 I cut out two patterns each in both the stiff netted fabric as well as the silky iridescent fabric so I ended up with five pieces of fabric in total.

 STEP 3:

 Once I had my five pieces, I pinned them all together.

STEP 4:

 I sew all five fabrics together.

 This is what it looks like when all fabrics have been sewn together. If its not perfectly aligned (as in my picture) you can always use a scissors to cut off the extra cloth at the end, to achieve alignment of all fabrics.

STEP 5:

 I folded the clutch along the corners. I used pins to hold the clutch together until I was ready to glue the clutch together using fabric glue. This is a front view of the clutch.

Back view of the clutch.

STEP 6:

 I piped the edges of the clutch's flap using the iridescent organza fabric.

I used pins to hold the piping in place until I was ready to glue it into place.

I also piped the inside of the clutch, to make the inside a bit more elegant. I used pins to hold the piping in place until I was ready to glue the fabric together using fabric glue.

STEP 7:

I used gold studs to stud the clutch. I got them at a store in the city called "Imagination" at a dozen pieces for $5 TTD. This is equivalent to USD83¢

STEP 8:

I also decided to pipe all the raw edges on the clutch and add some straps across the front of the clutch using the iridescent organza fabric.

STEP 9:

I sew by hand, a piece of Velcro tape on to the clutch

 to keep the clutch secured upon closing it.

After all the work was done on the clutch this is what the final product looked like.What do you think?

 Voila! Off to the Eid celebrations with my self made clutch.

VIVA PALESTINE! تعيش فلسطين

Dear friends,

 Man, oh man. To say there's crap going on in the Middle East is ... well, it's pretty accurate, and also, an understatement. Have you been hearing about Israel, Palestine, Hamas, and the Gaza Strip in the news recently? As you may or may not be aware, the vast majority of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza have been civilians, primary women and children. After conducting my own research into the conflict a few years back I have been consistently alarmed by the biased media reports all over the world, and Trinidad is no different. With all that's been happening I still live my life but it's really difficult and might I add rather selfish to not acknowledge the Palestinian situation. I decided to take two take two things that I'm extremely passionate about: Fashion and Photography and merge them with Palestine and Palestinian victims and heroes in mind. Through my passions, through the things that I love, that bring me happiness I want to remember Palestine. This project comes from my heart. This is me...Naballah Chi for Palestine.

 These awful and distressful photos of dead Palestinians are moving. Tensions are high and death tolls rise as two fundamentally opposed groups continue to be at war with one another. So many of us want this cycle to stop; we want peace, we are all very tired of war. The figures revealing Israel’s sweeping practice of impunity leaves me more and more in utter disbelief. It is the kind of disbelief that catapults you into a state of shock. The sheer fact that the Israeli military are getting away with killing hundreds and hundreds of innocent children, without paying any consequences whatsoever, is so outrageous, so unbelievable, that it paralyses you. It renders you helpless, unable to react, unable to focus on what actions to take to remedy the situation.

After a while of dealing with this every day, I'm sure many folks in Palestine run the risk of becoming totally numb and, as a result, increasingly unfazed by each new incident. On the outside, this could seem like resignation. And it often is. Israel feeds on this. And even the outside world becomes immune; you, the reader, become immune - your threshold for passively accepting atrocity becomes higher. It is to be expected – we all need to protect ourselves from such horrors of daily life in order to survive. The skin gets thicker. But let us not fool ourselves in thinking we cannot do anything to influence the situation. All events have consequences. All actions and inactions have consequences. Our indifference is already influencing the situation. Our indifference is an essential part of the equation that keeps the ongoing impunity in place: it is indifference which allows child killings to continue unhindered. It is the same indifference which breeds state terrorism, and as a response, other forms of terrorism. I am horrified as are many others that this can go on unchallenged. Of course, there are civil society organisations which are committed to challenging Israel’s impunity. They use all the mechanisms available to them to denounce Israel’s practices and to demand accountability and reparation for the victims.While this may be a normal reaction, it is also normal, and necessary, for human beings to find fresh motivation to keep on trying. I appeal to everyone to review the motives behind their inaction and bystanders all over the world to fight against the numbness and banality of seeing or hearing about child after child being killed. We must keep trying to achieve justice for Palestinians. This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. You don’t need to be Muslim to stand up for Gaza. You just need to be human.

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