Hummingbird Clutch

Last weekend J and I picked up a folding table for me to use in my craft room/our other spare room upstairs in the house and I've been itching to make something up there. It's so nice to have my own space like that, where I don't have to worry about putting everything away or finishing a project the day I start it. So the other day I decided to wander around Jo Anns with my Pinterest boards pulled up on my phone and see what struck my fancy. 

This is what I decided on. 

(Pleated Clutch from Punkin Handmades)

And this is what I made!

I followed her tutorial almost exactly and it was really easy to follow overall. (Perfect for someone like me who is far from an expert seamstress.) Specifically I bought a 1/3 of a yard of both my outer and lining fabrics and still have plenty left over for something else down the road. I used a 14 inch zipper and decided not to use the D-ring and strap options. I did not use any interfacing or fuseable fleece partly because the stuff scares me and also because I don't understand the point. I substituted the fusible fleece with two pieces of $0.25 white felt and it seems to have worked just great. 

I was immediately drawn to this fabric because of the hummingbirds. I have a special place in my heart for them and I knew this was an awesome way to discretely show part of a wing here, part of a beak there. I loved the coral color in some of the flowers and decided to exploit that for the inside polka-dot fabric and the zipper. (Although I was close to using the kelly green instead.) I know I'll be making another one of these soon with a more fall/winter appropriate fabric because this is a little spring-y for October but I couldn't resist. 

One of the best things is how much this thing can hold! There are two small pockets on the inside for carrying those little things we call carry around and the darting step for the corners makes this clutch pretty expandable if I do say so myself. 

This is everything that I've been carrying around inside on a regular basis:

Sunglasses - phone - coffee-cuff 

keys - lipgloss & chapstick - pen pain meds

and my wallet (which is a pretty good size) 

There has also been some randoms: 

4 inch sprinkler head (it was yard-improvement day today)

a calculator (for tutoring)

and a small banana (for breakfast, duh)

The overall consensus is that I love my new clutch and I can't wait to make some more of them. I might even start making a few of them for Christmas gifts (it's not to early to start planning, just fyi)

What have you made lately?