I love purses but I don’t love spending a lot of money on trendy or seasonal purses so I love the idea of the placemat purse.  

I found a red straw placemat at my local discount store for 50 cents!   Add a little May Arts Ribbon magic and you’ve got a cute summer bag for literally pennies!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Sewing machine/matching thread
•  1 placemat
• 2- ½ yd. May Arts 1.5” Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon
• 4 – 2.5” May Arts Shabby Flower
• 4 i-Top Medium Brad Buddies/I-top tool
• Needle/thread

Step 1: Sew the sides of the placemat.

Step 2: Sew across the bottom on each side.

Step 3: Turn placemat right side out. Pin ribbon at desired location on each side of bag.

Step 4: Sew on the ribbon handles. Go back and forth several times to make sure the handles are secure.

Step 5: Trim ribbon. Create cute flower accents. I used i-Top Medium Brad Buddies and the i-Top brad creator by Imaginisce. Use the excess ribbon from your handles for the buttons.

Step 6: Hand sew flower accents to both side of bag handles.

 Done! You can create a cute summery purse for mere pennies and in under an hour.

 Thanks for joining us on the May Arts Blog! We’d love to see your placemat purses using May Arts Ribbon.

 By Charlene Driggs