How to Decorate a Purse

I recently came across a fairly plain black messenger-type handbag, and I thought it had promise. I picked it up at a thrift store for $4 and it's in really good condition.

The weave in the front got my attention - I immediately thought it would be fairly easy to dress it up with several different colors of ribbons.

I picked up some pretty ribbon in autumn colors at the local craft store, and pulled out some Quick Grip Glue (this stuff really does work great on everything!).

I decided that I didn't want to weave ribbon into each spot of the purse - I wanted to leave some areas black. For the areas I wanted to fill, I cut the ribbon about an inch longer than I would need on each size (so 2 inches longer total). I then wove the ribbon into the front of the purse, following the pattern that was already there.

I placed a little dab of glue at the outer edges of each piece of ribbon to hold it in place, and that's it!

The best part is that when I get tired of these colors, I can replace the ribbon with new colors.

Obviously, this method won't work for many purses, but hopefully it will inspire you and give you a some new ideas!