Friends, bloggers, crafters! Lend me your ears! (teehee) I have thwarted commercialism by bucking the system. How? I made my own camera bag! And it was easy!
Seven months ago, when my fellow photographer friend found out that I was getting a DSLR camera she sent me a nice little care package. One of the things she sent was a camera bag. Wasn't that thoughtful of her? I'm fortunate to have friends like that. :-) So, here I am, 7 months later and all my
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| $169 Kelly Moore bag |
Not in my budget. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon a blog that showed how to make your own stylish camera bag with a purse, a few materials and a little sewing. And that is what I set out to do. Find out how to make yourself one here.
So my sister and I set out on a mission to find the perfect bag for my needs. We found one at Burlington Coat Factory for $25 that was lightweight with enough room for my camera and a couple lenses. I wanted it to have a zipper top and some pockets. Nothing really big. I just wanted something that I could grab for a quick trip out, and not have to lug around my purse too.
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| My $25 bag. |
Then I rounded up my Joann's Fabric store coupons ( love that 50% off one item coupon) and went shopping for my supplies. I didn't do things exactly as my inspirational blogger did. I chose to use a velcro called Fabric Fusion that adheres by ironing with steam. I just wasn't up for the battle of sewing on velcro. It seems to have worked rather well, too! All of my supplies came up to almost $30. I have enough supplies left over to even make another camera bag. Woohoo! Maybe I will return that favor and send my friend one. :-) Here is how my bag turned out.
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| I love the front pocket! |
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| If I want more space I can move the inserts around. There is also a zipper pocket to put lens cleaner and extra memory cards in too. |
Dontcha know I was having so much fun that I couldn't stop at making just a camera bag! I had to have a matching camera strap and key chain too. None of the Kelly Moore bags have those! Find out how to make a camera strap here. And the key chain instructions are here.
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| I even put velcro on the back of my keychain. What fun! |
Don't know how to sew? I seen a bag made by hot gluing the fabric to the foam. I'm not lying! It looked pretty good too. See for yourself.Ya know, all this creativity got me to thinking... a person could make a camera bag out of other things too. Maybe a diaper bag, or a fanny pack. Or maybe even a lunch box could be used. But, I love my bag so much, I think I'm stopping here. It's exactly what I wanted ---at my price. -----Oh wait. I might add an extra pocket. Or maybe, make a bean bag for a tripod alternative. Hmmmm... it might get heavy though. OH... but wait, I could use my teenager's air rifle pellets! Okay.. so maybe this project isn't quite finished...YET.
Here are some sites that sell camera bags that look like
http://kellymoorebag.com/
http://epiphaniebags.com/
I love the Belle one on the Epiphanie site.
http://jototes.com/
Such a great idea!
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