Bag Obsessed

I have a new obsession.

I have a Clippykit bag. It is a thing of beauty. Or it will be once I manage to translate the vision of how gorgeous it’s going to look into reality. The problem is in the execution. My fingers are not as nimble as my ideas.

If you haven’t come across this wonderful product yet, here’s the lowdown:

It’s a clear plastic bag with pockets (see picture above). Mine’s a small one, so it has six each side. Put like that, it doesn't sound very exciting, but the idea is to personalise it by putting pictures and objects in the pockets and to basically make it look as funky and cute as you like.

I’m experimenting with book covers, back blurbs, book pages, scraps of notes and craft paper, and basically anything I can get my hands on that looks as if it will fit in a 9cm x 11cm pocket. (You can see some beautiful examples on the Clippykit website).

Actually, I need some advice. I had intended to use cover flats (flattened out book jackets) in the pockets, but I’m not sure it has the desired effect, so I tried printing out a small, whole book cover and I think that looks better. What’s the verdict? Partial cover (bottom right pocket) or whole cover (top left pocket)?

Told you it was becoming a new obsession…

Anyway, my plan is to have the bag finished by the time I go to the RWA conference in Washington DC. I’m sure it will be an eye-catching bit of promo and will help start a few conversations. I will post pictures when I have finished filling the pockets and getting it just so.

Husband totally does not get this. He looked at the bag, just stared at it, when I pulled it out of the box, ooh-ing and ahh-ing. ‘You hate it,’ I said. He just shrugged. ‘It’s another bag’, he said. What does he know? I think you have to be a girl to get it, really I do.