D.I.Y. : The Carrie Diaries Purse

Hey ladies! 

So I went a long while [like years] with no tv/cable in my life. Originally, because- well I couldn't afford it. I got it back and then I had to get rid of it again, because I had no self control. I would go to work, and then come home and veg out on tv [I wanted to get my monies worth, I guess].

 As you all may know, I am a teacher- so that means I have my summers off and lots of free time to watch tv [if I had cable]. Last summer I was still sans cable, and after one too many rainy-days and finishing Lost on Netflixs, a girlfriend of mine suggested The Carrie Diaries. I had herd of the book, but never read it. But I am a HUGE fan of Sex in the City, so I thought I would check it out.

Needless to say, I finished the 2 seasons in like a week and I am soo sad that it didn't get picked up for a new season :( It was such a sweet and wholesome show, compared to most of the mind garbage on tv now in days.  


Anywho, The Carrie Diaries is what has inspired this purse D.I.Y. today. So if you aren't familiar with the show, you may or may not get this and just think that it looks like an 80's hot mess from the thrift store. And well it kinda is! 


I don't want to ruin the whole story for you, but in the show Carrie's mother passes away while she is a teen. Her mother's black purse is one of her belongings that she has saved/cherishes. It gets messed up with finger nail polish by her little [preteen] sister [grrr! little sisters ruin everything! wink ;p]. And instead of Carrie writting it off as ruined, she saved it by creating her own design + writting her name on it. 


Turns out that the bag looked so great,  a magazine borrows it to feature in a photoshoot! [She is an intern at a magazine]. This is such a great metaphor for life. Carrie could have been mad at her sister [which she was] but she turned her problem into a solution, which ended up being even better than before. Sometimes you gotta 'roll with the punches' and make lemonade out of all the lemons you've got.

I already had this bag, but I did get it from the thrift store years back. You could just do this the way that Carrie did, with finger nail polish but for me- that seemed a bit messy. I tried out my paint pens on the surface, and it worked- so thats what I used. You can get a pack of these paint pens/markers from Michaels for about 6 or so dollars. To get the splatter effect I just shook the markers really hard and some paint would fly out. I also smash the tip of the marker on the purse, and let a bunch of paint come out at once, and then let it drip naturally. It only took like 10 mins to dry.

Super happy with how it turned out! And I am channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw forsure :)

I think our girl Carrie would approve! Remember, if you make one of my D.I.Y.'s, art projects or crafts and upload a picture, make sure you use the hashtag #iliketoARTYhard so that I may see! 

Peace + love + D.I.Y. 

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