The chic (and cheap) woman's cosmetic case

I'm cheap. It's true. Naturally, I have my indulgences. Don't we all? I love fabric. I love kid's clothes, and I love anything crafty. So I do, I'll admit, spend money on said items. Still, it's always done in a money conscious way. I'm talking coupon cutting, ebay and thrift stores, and bargain hunting. I don't like going out to eat, I feel it is a useless expense (though I am delighted when we get gift cards for dinner, because that I can justify!). The most expensive purse I've even bought was $24. Shoes? $28. Jeans? $32. (Isn't it saying something by the fact I actually remember the prices?)

I actually just bought myself a $60 bathing suit for Hawaii which I am still horrified by the price, but it's the first bathing suit that I feel comfortable in, and it's Hawaii so....

Anyways. Whew, I know how to digress, don't I?

Back to the point. My husband and I started going to the gym recently. I think it's a lot of money, but again, Hawaii. I want to be in tip top bikini body shape (regardless of whether I own a bikini or a one piece). You know what I mean. So my husband has this cute little super manly gym bag and cosmetic case. (Or whatever it's called when you put shampoo and razors in it). I have neither. So my husband tells me to go buy a cute gym bag and case that I like. But me being the cheapy McCheaperson that I am am irritated by his flippant attitude towards money spending. (Really, who tells their husband "no" when offered his credit card?).

I figure, hey, I have fabric. I have time (sort of), why not make myself a gym bag? To not wear myself out I decided to start with the cosmetic bag and I thought I'd share my tutorial with you. So here's an ode to being cheap, using items on hand, and saving some green:

Personalized Cosmetic Case:

To start gather your materials:
Zipper
Family Pictures
Contact Paper
Thread
Scissors
Iron
A bit of creativity

Decide how big you want your bag and make a photo collage in the approximate size with seam allowances and all that good stuff. Take the contact paper and cover the front and back. I laid my pictures on the face up contact paper than carefully covered it. The contact paper was forgiving to my mistakes so I was ok if I had to lift it up and try to reposition it again.



Here's my front and back pieces: An 8x10 was an easy way to be lazy about my collage.


Lay a towl on top of the contact paper and iron the contact paper a bit to make it super adhere to the pictures. DO NOT TOUCH THE IRON TO THE CONTACT PAPER. Use a towel!!
Next sew the zipper to the top of one collage (it's brown, it doesn't match, but it was all I had at home) :)


Sew the zipper to the top of the other collage: See how they are now attatched?


Leave the zipper open!!!!!!!!
Sew the pieces together. I slanted my edges a bit:


See why you should leave your zipper open? I had no way to turn my case inside out and had to take it apart and start again. Lovely.


Shape the edges by pinching them together. Seams lay on top of each other and you sew about 1-3 inches in. I did it at 1 1/2 inches.



Cut the excess:


Repeat for both sides. Then turn inside out. This is tricky. It will get wrinkled. You can kind of press WITH A TOWEL. Do not put the iron directly on the bag. Take your time and try not to rip it. The wider the opening the easier it will be.


Ta Da! Your very own WATERPROOF bag for the gym. I keep my shampoo, conditioner, razor, soap, and poofy washcloth thingee in here. I've been using it for about 2 weeks now and it has proven water resistant so far. I wouldn't suggest dunking it in a pool of course.


I hope you like it. Let me know if anyone uses this tutorial. Link us to your page in the comments section. Thanks!!