wooden purse handles

Have you ever seen something at an arts and crafts sale and wondered how it was made? I love going to arts fairs because I get good ideas of things that I could make. I like to make things, however they do not always turn out to look as nice as the same thing made by others. Other people like the things that I make and tell me that they look nice, but I can se the flaws in the finished products. Maybe we are our own worse critic.

One of the hot items to make for yourself right now are purses. There are several cute purse patterns out on the market. The thing that I could not figure out on one crocheted purse was how they made the handles. It was a tan with wooden purse handles. The wood was carved and really added to the look of the purse. She also had striped and other multicolored bags and they all had the wooden purse handles. My first thought was that she or someone she knows must make them by hand. They were actually the most attractive part of the purse.

When you go the craft fairs you find that there are two kinds of crafters. One will tell you every step of the process that they go through to make each item. The second crafter is the kind of person that will not say anything about their items. They will give one word answers to questions. The woman with the bags with the wooden purse handles fit into the second category. One of the other shoppers heard me ask about the wooden purse handles. When we had stepped away from the booth she told me that you can buy the handles in any craft shop. They have them in plastic, wood, bamboo and they come in a wide variety of colors. Once you have made your bag you simply attach the handles to it. She said that you can use them on cloth bags as well as yarn bags. They also come in a variety of lengths so you can use them as a clutch style or and over the shoulder bag. She told me which store she thought had the greatest selection as well as the best prices. She also told me that she goes to second hand stores to check out the purses. She said many times you can buy a purse for under a dollar and then she recycles parts of it for the handbags that she makes. I was very glad that she stopped to talk to me. She had some great ideas and tips that she was willing to share.