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4 Brilliant Ways to Embellish a Clutch

Anjelika Temple

As Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Brit + Co, Anjelika Temple brings her voracious consumption of all things creative and colorful to DIY projects, geeky gadgetry finds and more. When she's not DIY-ing her heart out, you'll find her throwing dinner parties with friends or adventuring with her husband David, their daughters Anokhi and Indira, and their silly dog Turkey.

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Jun 07, 2013

Yesterday we scoured the web for all the creative ways our fellow makers and shakers create their own classy clutches, and now we’re here to show you a couple tricks of our own. Read on to see how we turned a couple basic zip clutches into statement bags using nothing but fabric trim, statement necklaces, and glue!

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– zip pouches or clutches

– statement necklaces

– trim

Tools:
– fabric scissors

– toothpicks

– E-6000 glue

– needle nose pliers

We picked up these clutches at American Apparel so they were a little on the pricey side – we just love their variety of colors. You could also use something you already have, or try hitting up a thrift shop.

For embellishments, we used graphic trim, neon trim, and two statement necklaces found at Icing. Yes. Icing.

And don’t forget your trusty tools!

We’ll start with a clutch that ended up looking pretty vintage. Lay out the necklace how you’d like it to be on your clutch. Use needle nose pliers to detach chain or any additional beads or pieces from the necklace.

Use a toothpick to apply E-6000 glue to the back of your necklace and press onto the clutch. Let dry for at least an hour before using, but best to let it dry overnight to really adhere.

Done! We love how the chains hang on the front of the clutch.

Next, we added a silver feathery necklace to a turquoise clutch. Create two rows of feathers by using needle nose pliers to cut the right length stripe. Then use a toothpick to glue.

We like to call this look Native American Neon ;)

Speaking of neon, this next bag is straight out of the 80s… but in a good way. We chose three bright colors of trim and glued them right onto the bag. If your bag has curved edges, use a pencil to trace and cut along the seam to echo the shape.

We can almost hear Take On Me playing in the background just by looking at this purse.

Last we went with a graphic, almost tribal look. The process for this is the same as the neon. Cut the trim to size, use a toothpick to apply glue to the back of the trim and glue onto the bag.