SmartGirl.me Book Purses: Lewis Carroll SmartGirl Purse

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Lewis Carroll SmartGirl Purse

I donated a SmartGirl Purse for a silent auction for the Kids Cancer Foundation of South Florida . From doing this I got 3 more orders. Then shortly after that I received 2 more SmartGirl Purse orders. I cannot believe how busy I am this month.

The first SmartGirl Purse is a graduation gift. She purchased the book herself and I would say she did a great job. The book itself is beautifully embossed in gold on a burgundy leather cover.

I used fun embellishments I bought at a (my favorite place to shop) scrapbooking store and the glass and gold tune beads to make the handles came from a craft store.

I thing picking out the beads, embellishments, and fabric are my favorite part of the process. I get to shop in a quilting store where I find a large fabric selection.

I had to paint the metal Tim Holtz Foliage gold because they only come in silver, bronze and pewter. The metal corners are from Tim Holtz and so are the leaves.

I gently removed the pages and rebound the book. It is ready to be read and enjoyed again.

I Love the way it turned out and I think the SmartGirl who is receiving this as a graduation gift is going to love it too. The theme for the graduation is Alice and Wonderland...perfect!

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What is SmartGirl you ask?

As some of you know, I am quite the crafty chica and have been trying to make a living out of my craft room for some time. I also have a book club and know many smart mommies who love books. But the thing that I am the most passionate about is being a woman. Women rock! I love everything about us, from our soft feminine side to our strong, tough side and with the use of our intuition we can accomplish anything. If we make sure our girls know that, great things can and will happen. This is partly why I became a Girl Scout leader (Amanda being the biggest part) and this is why I surround myself with amazingly smart women.

So you still ask “what is this SmartGirl”? Well, while I was on my 10th year anniversary cruise with Ben which was eventful in itself….we had a man-overboard situation. Yea…can you believe it? Anyway, while we were at one of the late-night pool-side parties I saw with my slightly intoxicated eyes a woman carrying a book or maybe a purse, either way it looked stunning with her outfit. On closer inspection it was just a purse, nothing special, however; what if it was a book purse? How cute would that have been?

So when Ben and I were not having a romantic moment, or sleeping, eating, dancing, or thinking about the man overboard, my mind was on how I was going to make a book into a fashionable, wearable, piece of art and how it can make a statement about the woman who is carrying it. My creative, entrepreneurial mind would not stop.

Imagine, ordering a one of a kind purse that shows off your favorite author, or that one book that changed your mind about reading or where you wanted to go with your life. Your purse would not only be a story in itself but it can be a way to express a snippet of your story.

Now imagine with every purchase of a SmartGirl purse, a $5 donation went to help fight illiteracy, or $5 went to help a girl across the world get an education or even $5 going to a local non-profit that helps young girls meet their full potential.

Better yet, imagine the girl who instead of buying a purse with some designer label or a celebrity’s pick, chooses to buy a SmartGirl purse. What does that say about her?

So, I have been busy researching, and crafting since I’ve been back from our cruise. With the help of my friend Juliet, I think I figured out what these purses are going to look like and how they are going to be made.

Oh and if some of you are wondering how this book-loving, Prius driving, re-user can destroy a book…no worries. I carefully remove the pages from the used book, and I've commissioned my daughter Amanda to create the artwork for new book covers so that the actual pages can be enjoyed again if one wishes.

I’m excited! These purses are going to be stunning. The SmartGirl bag is going to bring literature, fashion, art and charity together. I will keep you all posted.