Fossil Purse Reconstruction Trial Run

Did I ever tell you this was my fav purse ever?! Well, it was! And I must tell you before you scroll down, prepare yourself for the horror!

AHHHH! I was just sick. I set it on the carpeted floor of a restaurant, not knowing the carpet was wet. This is the result the next day. It looked like it molded overnight. The restaurant said that I couldn't prove it happened there. (He had a lot of nerve!)
Well, I occasionally still look at it and remember all the good times we had together (in the 3 months we were together). SO! I decided to try to make my own in this same style. I would never dream that I could make a leather purse.

So I tore the lining out, and used it as a template to make a trial purse, to see if I would like it.

Notice the pleats on the front(they are on the back too).

I wanted a little hardware on there too, so I used some D-rings on the straps. And put a big Papertrey Ink brown button as the closure. I want to make a zippered one, but couldn't wrap my mind around it yet. Maybe the next one!

The only thing that I am not happy with is the way the bottom is kind of boxy, I would like my next one to be more rounded, so I am going to work on that too.
This fabric was something I had laying around that I had seen in the precut bargain bin for $1.00. Not bad for an afternoon of work!