DIY CAMERA BAG PURSE

While shopping for my new camera, I started to see some fantastic girly camera bags.  I really liked a pewter bag at Jototes, but it comes with a price tag of $89 plus shipping. Sadly it's a little out of my price range and budget.

This got me to thinking - "could I make one myself ?"  I looked around pinterest and found that Vanilla and Lace had the same idea as me, and posted a DIY on making one.  Also, a new follower to this blog  made a camera bag/purse.  Her name is Brie from Breezy Pink Daisies.  I found out we like a lot of the same things.  I already had my diy bag in the makings and guess what I saw on her blog?  A purse made over in almost the exact same fabric. I guess great minds think alike....Ha..Ha!  Moving on to the bag -

Here's what I came up with for my DIY Camera Bag / Purse.

I began by looking for some girly fabric and bought 1/2 yard of it. I ended up using less than half of it.

Now I needed a cute purse, so off to Ross I went and found this cute bag for  $23.

I was sad to find out that this purse was too floppy and would "cave in" too much so I returned the purse.  On to plan B, I had a $1 garage sale purse sitting on my closet self...not as cute as the first purse but the bottom is more stable.  It also has a zippered top which will help protect my camera from the elements.

I then began to shop my house for the other supplies I needed.
The first thing was some left over foam from a previous project.  I began measuring the inside of the purse ~ bottom, height and width.  After getting the measurement, I moved on to cutting strips of foam to match the measurements.

The next step was to cut pieces of fabric 1/2 inch wider (for seam allowance) than the strips of foam. Sewing them together to look like a small pillowcase.

To add a little more stability and firmness to bottom of the purse, I cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the foam.  I sprayed the cardboard with spray glue and added the foam on top of it.  I then slipped into the "pillow case" of fabric.  To finish the open side seam I simply hand stitched it shut.  On the two long side pieces I sewed a strip of Velcro.

   I also applied Velcro to the sides of the smaller partitions.

These will make the adjustable sides and partitions between camera parts.

The purse already had two built in pockets that work perfect for sd card storage.  It also has a zippered pocket where I can store lens cloth and miscellaneous small items  including the small tripod I got on a garage sale for .25 cents.

Here's how it looks with all the camera supplies.

The entire project only cost me $3 including the price of the purse.

 I'd say that makes for a pretty budget friendly and thrifty bag!