Altered Doctors Bag

It started out like this...........

An old alligator bag with great hardware,

but in really bad shape.

In fact this bag was given to me by an antique dealer that was

going to throw it away but decided I should use

 the hardware.

OK, still not TOO bad......

OUCH!!!!!

What I love about projects like this is you can't lose.  They

are already deemed garbage by "normal folk"

so what do you have to lose?

It's actually somewhat freeing,

and some of my favorite projects have come about this way.

So, with that in mind......

Maybe ready to be used by a different kind of Dr. now??:)

I didn't cover any more than I had to.

After cleaning and conditioning,  the leather

was really quite beautiful. 

But I still needed to make it  sturdy.

So the first thing I did was take a curved needle and some

upholstery thread and sew up all the tears.

It didn't need to be perfect because I knew I was

going to cover it, but it needed to be structurally sound.

Next I started with one of the ends and spread the whole area I wanted to cover with glue.

And I spread it fairly thick.

I actually mixed two glues together, because I didn't want to run to store, and I only had

a few dibs and dabs of different ones.

So just think thick, white, dries clear, will hold a Buick together.

Then I just pressed the fabric on. In my case a wonderful old

saltillo that I have used in so many projects that everything is starting to look alike. 

(But I will miss dreadfully when it is gone) 

I did do a dry fit before I spread the glue, knew that I was going to have a fold on one end etc.

If you get your glue where you want it, you can trim the edges after it dries.

If you are the sort that has patience. :)

So no sewing of the fabric, just glue.

If you do a project like this, remember that you will be opening and closing it,

so cut the fabric big enough and fit it to accommodate the movement.

When both of the ends were done............

I cut a piece to go along the top of the front and back.

Again, just glued it on.

Cutting the botton uneven.

Originally that piece was  for contiguity of color......

as well as to sew the embellishments onto.

You don't want to be pushing needles and wire through

that gater any more than you have to, plus it IS old and

can tear easily.

I soon realized that the blanket by itself wasn't going to hold the amount of stuff I wanted to put on the bag.

So I punched holes through the top corners and wired a chain across to use as the support

for all the beads and whatnots I planned on adding.

The back is still plain, I am not sure if I will add anything to it or not.

The beauty of a project like this is the fact that

it is never done..................

You can add or subtract forever.

I forgot to show you the inside.................

Stained, but no holes.

It actually cleaned up pretty well.

I wish I could tell you where that dirt is from.......

But I can't .

But it's very cool!!!

Shootouts: The round polished bone is from Steph

And a lot and I mean a LOT of the other things are from Terri

And the dirt.......that's my secret!!! :)))

SORRY!!!