Awhile ago I posted a picture on my personal social media of an event we were at and a friend wrote on it, “don’t you ever stay home lol?!?”, and at the time, I just kind of laughed it off, but it also made me realize how fortunate I actually am! I always tell people that I’m a homebody, that there’s no where else I’d rather be but at my friends remark, it made me stop and think that we actually do have quite a busy social life! I’m sure it’s the same for lots of people but we can go ages with no social events and then it seems like we’re out every night!
This past weekend I was lucky enough once again to attend another concert in Toronto with some very, very special people….my daughter Ella and her friend Casey!! We saw Niall Horan, and if that name doesn’t mean anything to you, perhaps his former band might…he was a member of One Direction and in 2014, Ella and I went and saw them in concert!! It was her first concert and it was an incredible experience to share with her, although sadly, as she was only 11, she doesn’t remember a lot of it!
This concert was at Scotiabank Arena downtown Toronto so we headed off for the day, and I was excited that I could use a new bag I had made a little while ago, well one of two exact same bags I had made, one for my friend Nancy and one for me! Ready for some cuteness?!?
Twinssss lol!! Ages ago she asked me at some point to make her a clear bag so I thought why not make me one too!
I used the Babi Boxy Clear Crossbody Bag pattern by Oklaroots. Thankfully I had enough materials on hand that were leftover from other projects so I was all set to go! I used our amazing Premium Clear Vinyl, our 1″ Black Webbing and Webbing Adjusters. The pink and black around the zippers are scraps of Jelly Vinyl.
I had seen these clear bags all over my social media so I was looking forward to making them, and I’m glad to report that they were super quick! I did make a couple of changes, most notably changing how the strap was attached to the bag. In the original pattern there is a D-Ring and Chicago screws/rivets and then swivel hooks to attach the adjustable strap. That all seemed like way too much hardware to me for what is a very small bag! In my humble opinion, you need a removable strap if you plan on washing the bag….this is plastic, it’s going to be wiped off with a cloth and that’s it! The bag itself can weigh almost nothing, but add in all that hardware and now it’s got weight that is not needed! I understand the Chicago Screws purpose to provide extra durability to the strap but honestly, the bag is tiny so you’re simply not able to carry that much so it’s not going to strain the strap very much at all! If anyone wants more detailed instructions on how I do my straps, I’d be glad to share so just ask!
All I carried in my bag was my phone, wallet, glasses and of course, lip gloss lol, but I still had plenty of room if there had been anything else I needed.
The bag was a few inches larger than the venue’s bag policy size requirements but Ella thought I was pretty safe since it was clear and I decided that if they gave me a hard time about it, I was honestly going to just toss it in the garbage rather than pay the $20 Bag Checking Fee. It takes minutes to make with minimal materials….I would just make another one later! It was all a non-issue because they didn’t even look at our bags, not even a glance lol! Oh well, at least my mind was at ease ahead of time and I wasn’t stressing about the whole thing!
And finally, before I sign off for now, here’s a picture of my cute little bag at the concert with all it’s contents on display…and see, lots of room for other treasures in there still!
Farewell for now my friends! Hope you’re enjoying your long weekend and maybe even spending some of it in your sewing room creating something wonderful!
Shawna
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