How to Make a Cellphone or a Lipstick Purse

I was visiting my relatives in our neighbour country The Netherlands for a week, which turned out to be two weeks of family bonding and exploring the cities nearby. Cities like Beverwijk, Amsterdam and part of Harlem where the Philippines Independence Day Picnic was held.

I was not able to bike when I was at my relatives home as the weather was a bit Irish. Not summer at all. The Dutch people are noted for their love of cycling and there are lots of cycling paths beside the roads. There are bicycle parking places as well. I feel safer cycling in The Netherlands than in Germany. So I parked my bike in my relatives garage for many years now to be able to bike when I visit them. But I was unlucky this time. The weather was not inviting for me to bike.

Sorry! I´m getting very far from my topic. Anyway, one evening my niece asked me to sew the seam lines of her new jeans. She cut the bottoms first as they were too long for her. I started sewing the seam lines when I realised, what a waste of cloth we had lying on the table. I thought, "I could make something out of the cuttings". Then I saw a cellphone on the table. The idea was born.

These things are for 2 cellphones or lipsticks purses :

• 2 Bottom cuttings of a jeans, small bottom cuttings for lipstick purse
• 4 butterflies sequinses
• 4 flower sequinses
• thread, color of the jeans and the sequinses
• needle
• scissor
• silky glue and toothpick
• a pink or red cloth flower
• 4 press buttons
• a sewing machine

1. Sew the seam line in straight line of the inner side of the cut bottom of the jeans.
2. Then sew in zigzag the outer small side of the bottom of the jeans. This serves to be the bottom of the purse.
3. Paste the rose cloth flower on the middle of the purse or fix it by just stiching it neatly a few times to hold the flower.
4. Stich or paste the 2 butterflies sequinses to the left and right sides of the purse or wherever you want to.
5. Paste any kind of 2 flower sequinses to the lower part of the purse.
6. Stich 2 pairs of press buttons on the opening of the purse.
7. Then spread the glitters glue by using a toothpick, around the decorated purse.
8. Wait until the glitters dry on the purse.
9. Voila! You have now a fashionable design cellphone/lipstick purse for your evening party.

Note: If you want to make this purse for an everyday use, you can omit the glitters glue.

Making these handmade embroidered cellphone/lipstick purses was a very relaxing thing for me to do. The idea of it brought me back to my early high school days when I was taught by my home economics subject teacher, on how to embroider handkerchiefs and tableclothes. I took photos of the finished embroidered purses and posted them on my facebook account. To my surprise, somebody asked how much the purse is.

It took me only an hour to finish the 2 purses but writing this hub took me longer than that. Thank you for reading.

• If you don't have cuttings from a long jeans, you can use an old jeans which is still good in appearance.
• You can have cuttings from an old jeans blouse, jacket or skirt.
• You can use any fabrics that you like and embroidered it with fancy ornaments.
• Be creative and use your imagination.
• Making your own designed purse is cool and you might get money for making it for others.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Updated: February 19, 2015

Below is a video on how you can use the excess of your jeans if you happened to have bought a long jeans for yourself. As a small person living here in Germany, it happened many times that I have no choice but to cut the new bought jeans in order to be able to have the right size. You might not have this problem but I sure know that some of you are not tall. So, you can still use the bottom cuttings of your jeans. Good luck in crafting.