DIY ~ why Lee redesigned a designer handbag

For me, a handbag is the ultimate accessory. It's functional, and everyone who knows me knows there are few things I love more than a Kate Spade handbag. I own an undisclosed number of them, but this is the first time I've had to rescue one.

I recently discovered a previously-owned Kate Spade bag at one of my favorite consignment stores for a very reasonable price, but it was marred by some terrible stains.

 

Other than the stains, the bag was in excellent condition with pristine leather trim and interior lining.

 

What to do?

 

If I bought the bag, could I remove the stains? If the stains couldn't be removed, could I figure out some other way to repair the bag? Of course I decided to go for it!

 



I tried everything I could think of to remove those stains...hair spray, baking soda, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser...and nothing worked.

What to do?

Since I couldn't remove the stains, I needed to find a way to disguise them, and since this is a Kate Spade handbag, I needed to find a way to do it tastefully. Grosgrain ribbon is a signature Kate Spade trim, so I decided that would be the way to go.

I headed to the fabric store and bought a wide strip of cream-colored ribbon and narrow strip of black ribbon, and found some adhesive that would work with both fabric and the bag's plastic coating.

At home, I tested the adhesive on a narrow strip of ribbon and it worked, so I went to work on the bag. And this is the result.

The wide band of cream-colored ribbon does a beautiful job of covering the stains and matches the bag perfectly. The narrow black band adds a nice bit of contrast and, I like to think, a bit of designer flair. And now I can't believe I paid so little for this lovely designer handbag, or that I had the nerve to redesign it.

Does it work? What do you think? What do you think the Kate Spade people would think if they saw it?

Speaking of redesigns and DIYs, my two May releases deal with those very things.

Daddy, Unexpectedly (Harlequin American Romance) is the third book in my Seattle-set Ready Set Sold series about three best friends who run a business that renovates, stages and sells houses while they search for their own home sweet homes and happily ever afters.

In Maggie's Way (Harlequin Heartwarming), the heroine hires a contractor to renovate her house into a natural beauty spa and decides to work some of her magic on him, too.

Thanks for joining me today, and happy reading!

Lee
www.LeeMcKenzie.com 

Springtime DIY

It must be spring because for the past week I’ve been itching to get started on a DIY project. I’m also being inspired by the heroine of the book I'm finishing, The Daddy Project (December 21012). Kristi is an interior decorator and if you read my last book, The Christmas Secret, you might remember meeting her there.

What I have in mind is to convert my cluttered back porch into a well-organized mudroom. And when I say “cluttered,” I'm afraid you will have to take my word for it because I’m too embarrassed to post a photo of it in its current state. I’m also too busy to roll up my sleeves and dive into this project right now, but I have started to compile my mudroom wishlist.

Because the porch/mudroom is the transition to our back yard, I’m thinking it needs a nice fresh wall color, like Benjamin Moore’s Woodland Hills Green.

Green is such a calming color, especially compared to the hideous mustard yellow that's on those walls right now.

Along one wall I’d like to install beadboard wainscoting with hooks above for coats and umbrellas and shopping bags.

There will have to be a built-in storage bench, along the lines of this one from This Old House, for stowing footwear and the recycling bin...

…and a shelf over the window, similar to this one I saw on Pintrest.

Finally, I would love to swap the boring old ceiling fixture for something more nature-inspired, like this Whoopsie Daisy chandelier from The Land of Nod. Isn't it pretty?

So, what do you think? Do you have a springtime DIY project in mind? Please share, if you do!

Until next time,
Lee
www.leemckenzie.com