making | diy makeup bag

One of my twenty-thirteen resolutions was to make, rather than buy.  Consider this documentation of that effort.  Read about the rest of my resolutions here.


A few weeks ago, I read something on Sydney's blog that I wholeheartedly agreed with.  She said, "I'm only crafty when other people are crafty first."  Amen, sister.  I don't possess enough patience to be a creator of DIY crafts -- it's one area of my life where I'm happily a follower for now.  (I'm pretty sure people who create DIY tutorials need to be able to sew a straight line.  Not there yet.)

I've been in dire need of a new makeup bag for some time now.  The one I've been using is grimy and just plain pitiful.  It doesn't even hold everything it's supposed to hold, which defeats its purpose.  I mean, look at it.

One day I'll have a lovely little vanity where I can organize all of my products systematically.  But for now, I still need to keep my things in a bag that can be zipped and put away when I'm finished.  And I need it to be wide enough to fit both of my Naked palettes and big enough for easy searching in the mornings when I'm convinced that someone came in last night and stole my eyelash curler.    

I followed this tutorial from Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess.  I'll admit that steps 7 through 10 were more than little confusing for someone who has never sewn a zipper before.  But Tyler and his logic helped me through it.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the finished product.  It's kind of crooked and the seams on the zipper are shameful, but it meets all of my makeup bag requirements.

A note:  I reversed the measurements for the outside fabrics so there was more leather than patterned fabric.