Money Bag Purse

What could I make out of a bank bag? I immediately thought of a purse. Read on and see how I did it.

I do not know much about banking. I am not sure how she walked out of the bank with this bag? And I did not ask. It has been a long time so I am sure it's fine.

 It is very sturdy, it locks and it has some kind of number on it. I tried to Google for more information and could not find anything quite like it.

I did some thinking and came up with a plan. I wanted a cross body bag and I had a strap I could use. (Also from mom-in-law!) I needed something to attach the shoulder strap to. I wanted gold to match the hardware of the bag. The only thing I had was this men's belt. 

I cut the belt away from the gold buckle. I knew the rings would be strong and sturdy in my new bag.

I had some help from my husband bending the rings open. They were tough. If you don't have a husband handy try a dad, boyfriend, neighbor, teen-aged son, strong lady-friend, random dude at the gas station... just kidding. (Please do not approach random people at the gas station!)

How would I attach them to my bag? I needed to make holes. I used this cutting set to do that. It has a tool for buttonholes and a round tool to cut holes. It is great for belt holes but today it is helping with this purse. This small cutting mat will make sure I do not stab through the whole bag and table.

I measured to make sure the holes would be evenly placed. I choose the middle of the bag and I made holes in this leather so it would be strong and never fray.

You can see how the tool cuts a clean hole through this thick leather and canvas. A nail and hammer would probably do the same job in a pinch. Just make sure you do not nail your bag to the table.

 I forced the opened rings through the holes. It was not hard, it just required some wiggling. I then had my husband bend them closed again.

I made the holes and attached the shoulder strap so the purse folded over and made the bag visually smaller. It also showed off the interesting parts of the bag. The shoulder strap I used matched the dark brown of the handles and the zipper and the strap had clips that can be put on and off the rings.

My new purse is ready for fall. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.