Altered Purse, Baking & More

I think I mentioned a week or so ago, that I was playing with a vintage purse that I purchased at a Flea Market back in November.  Well, I finally finished that up today.  Here is the before photo:



And here is the after photo:



It's really not THAT altered.  I sewed some fringy beaded trim at the top then added the trim with the roses to that.  Once I had that on, I sewed the ribbon on, gathering it and sewing it down as I went along.  Yes, the alterations are done completely by hand!  Quite a challenge to keep the thread from getting tangled in the sequins!

Anyway, I then made the bows for the sides and sewed them on.  My dilemma was with the handle.  It was in good shape but quite dirty.  I wanted to do something that was removable in case I ever wanted to change it or in case it got dirty from my use.  Mom suggested that I take some wide grosgrain ribbon and blanket stitch it over the handle.  Voila!  Perfect.  It's pretty, it's changeable and it's pink!

So that's my altered purse.  I really just plan on using it for my Flea Market trips.  My Crazy Quilt purses aren't big enough to put my purchases in and when I saw this, I thought it would be perfect as there are pockets for my wallet, my keys, my cellphone and then lots of empty space for my junkin' finds!  It just needed some pink girl-y stuff on it!

In Friday's post, I mentioned that I had made some Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding.  Yum!  I took a photo of it:



I used my own homemade bread that I had made a week ago and wanted to use up.  Here is my recipe:

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

4 Eggs
2 cups Milk
1/3 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 cups Dried Bread Cubes
1 cup Chocolate Chips

Beat together eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt.  Spread bread cubes out in a rectangle casserole dish (mine is about 2 inches high).  Sprinkle Chocolate Chips over the bread cubes.  Pour egg mixture over the bread & chips.  Bake at 325 for 40 - 45 minutes.

I was never that big on bread pudding but with chocolate, oh yum!  If you try this, please let me know how you like it!

I guess the baking bee was still in me today.  I made Chocolate Chip cookies:



And a Cinnamon Raisin Bread with Chocolate Chips:



Ok, so I like Chocolate!  I had one slice of bread and one cookie and they were so good!  I like to bake things for my dad.  He loves Chocolate too and has been complaining that I haven't made him any cookies lately.  Spoiled?!!!!  I mean really, mom bakes all the time!

Anyway, I also made a big pot of Chicken Soup today and some Taco Meat for salad during the week.  Now I can play all week and know that I have lunch and dinner taken care of.

While I was doing all that (along with 4 loads of laundry), I added some new things to my shop.  First are my sweet little Glittered Birdhouses:



Do they look like ice cream cones or what?!!!  Sprinkles and all!  I wanted them to look Summery.

These little cuties were made by Mom:



I don't know where she found those tiny clay pots!  These are so sweet and I believe the last of our Easter items for this year.

Last but not least, mom made 3 Gift Bags:







These are so pretty!  Mom did some hand-beading on each of these.  Remember, my mom is legally blind and only has a small amount of vision.  You would never know it by the quality of her work.  She's always had a great amount of determination in her.  She has said many times that it wasn't going to keep her from doing the things she loves. 

Well, that's my post for today.  I had wanted to put my Marie Antoinette quilt on the quilt rod today but I ran out of steam.  Yes, yes, I know.  I did plenty and I shouldn't push myself so much.  Not to worry, I've already taken a shower, had some soup for dinner and will be heading off to bed in a moment.  I'll worry about finishing up my Marie quilt tomorrow!