More Fun Upcylced Onion Sack Creative Ideas

Prosser Washington is home of some fabulous onions...
and wonderful farming families who grow those fabulous onions.

And they are kind enough to let me play with some of their onion sacks...

Thus these fun things I've been able to come up with!

bows, pins, bags, backpacks, make-up baggies...

Yes, this rosette flower is really purple, not blue, but oh well.
It looks good in blue too....
I think....
hahaha...

Let your eyes enjoy the feast!!!

{Good times!}

Potato Sack Chic

This totally fabulous clutch {made from a potato sack from Idaho} is so much fun!

A true Crystelle Handbags Original

• I love the shabby chic feel to it!
  
• For more pictures of this purse, please visit our Potato Boutique Blog.
  
• Now pay attention, because this totally fab potato sack clutch is a free giveaway right now!
  

  Check it out at LindsayBlogs!

Make your own potato sack clutch with a genuine potato sack from here....!!! Guaranteed to elicit a LOT of compliments!

Crystelle Handbags and Crystelle Boutique

Crystelle Handbags: Home of the famous PotatoPurse

Crystelle Boutique is the parent company of Crystelle Handbags

Fun Potato Bag Sewing Patterns and Genuine Potato Sacks are available at EtsyPotatoBoutique

The Perfect Recycled Gift for the TRUE Recycler at Heart

Thought I would update you on the thank you gifts for the teachers of the children in our household:

This is what my son's teacher actually ended up with as thank you gift at the end of the school year.

My son adores the Crystelle Handbags {it's fun to have kids who support their mom.....} But for his teacher he wanted me to make something special: Instead of a Crystelle Handbags original {a handbag made of a genuine Idaho Famous Potato Sack}, he opted to give her something that represented "green" living even more, as she LOVES to reduce, reuse, and recycle.....

He wanted to thank his teacher for the module she taught on recycling, so he insisted I make her a black and white bag out of a re-purposed billboard banner....

I must agree. He did a good job choosing: it is the perfect recycling gift...

I really like the way this glam recycled bag turned out. It is BIG (teachers are notorious for carrying around a LOT of things....) and fun.

The interior has YELLOW pockets which are fun and spunky.

Great Idaho Gift Ideas for Great Idaho Teachers...

My daughter insisted that her teacher loved Idaho and pillows, so her teacher thank-you gift was an Idaho Potato Sack Pillow!

Her teacher was pretty excited.

The assistants and student teachers ended up with "Hot Potato Mitts...."

Oven Mitts made out of genuine potato sacks

Make Great Thanks You Gifts for Great Teachers

A bag makes a great teacher gift.

Or a tote, or a handbag, or a messenger-bag, or a purse.... Anyway, you get the idea!



It's that time of year again: end of the school-year, and all of a sudden we are all scrambling to give our children's teachers something meaningful to show our appreciation for taking good care of our children during the school-year....
Teachers are always carrying around lots of stuff to and from school. You may as well make it a bit easier for her/him with a fun bag or tote. If it is cute and personalized, so much the better!
For fourth grade teachers I always recommend an Idaho Potato Sack Bag, as they teach Idaho history. (if you don't live in Idaho that would not apply, of course...)
Have fun sewing! Crystelle Boutique {aka Crystelle Handbags} has some fun and easy to sew patterns available on the Potato Boutique Etsy shop.


Or how about a Washington Onion Bag for teachers in Washington?



And then for the perfect gift for the motivating fifth grade teacher who diligently taught our kids about recycling, how about the ultimate re-purposed bag out of a banner....?



What other ideas can you come up with?
Enjoy thanking your kids' teachers for the great things they contribute to our lives....

Repurposed Onion Sack Made into a Cute Purse

I really like way this Onion Purse turned out!

I'm really into orange right now. And blue has been my favorite color since forever.....

I used the Crystelle Handbags Rachel Handbag Pattern, and an Onion Sack from Sunset Onions in Prosser Washington.

Hope the customer who ordered it for Mother's day likes it! and her mother-in-law does too!

The Rachel Handbag looks fantastic, but is actually easy to sew pattern. We have that one and some additional fun bag sewing patterns available at our shop. After purchase they are just an easy download to your computer.

The Hartley Family (onion Farmers from Washington State) are also willing to let you use their bags. They have different colors and styles available. Please contact them or me for more info.

Potato Sack Purse with Orange Print: Warning: VERY cute!

Here it is: an ORANGE Ginny Potato Purse!The Ginny Famous Potato Purse has long been a Crystelle Handbags favorite, and here it shows up again....

The Ginny Famous Potato Purse is so much work to make, but then when you are finally done, you sit back and look it over, and you realize that it is just such a happy cheerful little bag you just can't help but smile..... :) .... BIG!!!! :D

• This particular Ginny Handbag has CUTE cheerful orange lining (which Leslie picked out....)...
  
  
• This Burlap Potato Sack Purse is for my friend Leslie's birthday. (today!!!!)
  

• She happens to be going on a 23 mile run on her birthday! Good for her! Go Leslie!!!! :-)
  
  

View more pictures of this cute potato sack purse right here

How to Sew with a Vinyl Advertising Banner

Are you wondering how to make a purse/handbag/bag/tote out of a used vinyl billboard advertising banner?
It's really quite easy. Job number one is to select some bag sewing patterns that are easy to sew.

Crystelle Boutique offers an easy free pattern and other really fun and easy to sew patterns.

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

Job number two : acquiring the vinyl advertising banner.
It probably took me three months to get up enough courage to ask the first business if I could have their banner after they were done with it. Their answer? NO! I was quite discouraged and it took me another six months to get up enough courage to do it again… This time was different. They were really nice, and said : YES!!! My confidence was up after that and I tried it again a week later. And the third business said YES too.
So rule number one is just to ask for a banner, and chances are, you will get one!

Pros and Cons of Sewing with Vinyl Banners

Pros

• Cheap (I just got mine for free)
  
• Easy to cut
  
• Easy to sew
  
• Easy to clean (I just used a natural cleaner and a rag)
  
• Durable
  
• Fun colors
  
• Very “green”
  

Cons

• Could be hard to acquireSome are old and show a lot of dirt and wear. (But then again, that adds to the novelty...)
  
• You can’t use pins in places that will show in the finished product. They leave visible holes. So be careful with that.The vinyl gets folds in it (you can kind-of get the folds out by covering the wrinkly banner with a cotton tea-towel and then, using a hot iron, press it. Do not leave the iron in one location for over 10 seconds: the vinyl WILL melt!
  

You could consider sewing a free item
for the donor of the vinyl banner. He or she would love it....

To see some of the bags I have made out of billboard banners, please visit here and here.

Sewing a Fun Recycled Bag from a Vinyl Banner

A friend of mine manages a local store and let me have
a discarded advertising banner. The next step for me
was to sew this fun handbag of course!

I used the Crystelle Handbags Melissa Handbag Pattern, which is one of our easy to sew patterns, and had SO MUCH fun! (SEW much fun...???)

Good times!
Crystelle