TaDa!

So many of you have been waiting so see what the project is that I've been working on yesterday and today.  Well, here it is...

My version of a Kelly Moore camera bag...

Now I know I could have bought one of these and saved myself (and my awesome neighbor who let me pick her brain on how to accomplish this!) a lot of trouble but I just can't see myself spending a couple hundred dollars right now on a really cool, stylish camera bag especially when the prices of everything are through the roof!

I got this idea from another blogger who felt the same as I did.  She found herself a reasonable bag that she liked and converted it into a camera bag.  I thought it was a fabulous idea so I started searching for the right bag.  While visiting my Mom (where there's ALL kinds of shopping!) we stopped at a Beall's Outlet store to see what kind of purses they had.  I found this one...

It was the right size, the color was good, and it's very roomy on the inside.  The BEST part about this bag... it was on clearance!  I paid just over $14.00 for this bag including tax!  The rest of the items that were used to make the interior compartments were leftovers from previous projects

Then the difficult part began.  I had an idea of how I wanted the finished product to be but not being a seamstress, I had no idea how to accomplish such a task.  In comes my neighbor to the rescue!  She's a wonderful seamstress with lots of experience and has even done upholstery!  Lucky for me!  Between the two of us tossing ideas around, we finally came up with a plan!

I measured and cut the fabric and she began sewing a 1/4" hem around three sides of the material.

I used a thick piece of foam and covered it with the material for support and padding in the bottom of the bag.

Since I was using all leftover materials, I had to glue two pieces of this foam together for added stiffness.  Let me tell you, the glue I used STUNK!  In fact, I left it outside last night to air out but it still STINKS!  I'm hoping it will go away soon!

Once the material was hemmed, we wrapped the foam pieces like a present.

We decided that we would attach all the pieces of foam together with Velcro.  I used Velcro Fabric Fusion.  I figured out where they needed to be placed and then ironed them on.  Great stuff!

Once the Velcro was ironed on, we continued wrapping each piece of foam then we whipped stitched the sides and the seam down the center.

The two long strips allow me to adjust the dividers.  For the dividers, I added a piece of cardboard for extra support.

Once all the pieces were complete, we 'stuck' them together and then I tacked the four corners together for more support.

Here's the interior...

I am still able to use the zippered pocket in the interior of the bag along with two small pockets that are great for keys or a cell phone!

And once again, the finished product!

Today was a lot smoother and simpler than yesterday since everything was already figured out and it was just a matter of sewing and assembling.  We were both happy with the way it turned out!  I can't wait to put it to use and test it out!

Well, that's it!  That was my project!  My version of a Kelly Moore bag.  I hope you didn't lose any sleep over it!  It was a fun project and I enjoyed spending time with my neighbor while we tackled this 'doozey' of a project as she described it!

Now don't get me wrong... if I ever won or someone gave me a Kelly Moore bag, I would definitely not turn it down!  They're awesome!  But for now, I'm lovin' my new cool, stylish camera bag!

What are you working on these days?

Till next time,