CAS Tea Sampler Purse

For those of you that know me and/or follow my blog, you already know that I love my tea -- I also enjoy trying many tea varieties from around the world.  Well, a friend of mine who is not really a tea drinker, came to visit recently while her husband was deployed (his year away is nearly over).  She actually will drink tea with me when we're together, but time got away from us and there were only so many days to drink tea.  LOL.  I meant to send her home with some tea that her hubby had sent me (my DH had asked him to send it to me), but after she left I realized I hadn't packaged it up for her.  As I said...she's not a big tea drinker, but I did want her to be able to try some of the samples I had.  She used to live in Turkey and had mentioned how she really liked their Green Apple tea, so I wanted her to have some of that too. 

I didn't want to just put it in an envelope, so I cut out this purse with my Cricut from the Forever Young cart (purse1).  I used my Gypsy to hide the contour lines of the purse's flower image for the back part of the purse, and for the front of the purse I added a "T" cut out from Plantin Schoolbook cart. 
NOTE:  If you don't have a Cricut you could draw the purse shape and cut it out twice (front/back). 

Cutting purple coordinating cardstock (CS) to the size of the purse bottom and sides, I used a 1-1/2"" width for the bottom of the purse and scored horizontally in 1/4" increments, then accordian folded the CS.  I did the same process for the sides of the purse.  I used score-tape to attach the 1st fold to the purse base on bottom first, and repeated the same with the side accordian folds.  It was easier to position the purse front over the accordian folds by assembling it back to front. 
I used one-sided CS, but double-sided would've looked really nice, and finished off the insides a bit better--plus I could've used the other side of the CS for the accordian folds.  Isn't hind-sight always 20/20?!

Well, that's about it...quick & easy--just the way I like it.  =) 
I adhered CS behind the "T" with glue so I could apply the glitter, and finished it off by quick tying a sheer ribbon to the handle.  I added some tea I packaged in small plastic jewelry bags, and shipped it off to my friend.  A simple gift of tea in a cute package.  I could've added some inks & embellishments to jazz it up even more, but I really just wanted something CAS.

CAS is the acronym for clean & simple.  The viewpoint on a CAS design is subjective, but basically speaking - a CAS design usually has one or more of the following attributes: a distinct focal point or theme, shows uncluttered space, not always a time-saver project but may highlight a specific technique, doesn't usually have a lot of layers/embellishments, is easily reproduced with minimal supplies.  I first learned about CAS designs on Splitcoast Stampers.  You can do a search on their website and find a lot of CAS examples--their site is a wonderful resource.  For this CAS project, I'm simply hoping you look at it and maybe think of a "T" purse/pouch.  =)

Thanks for stopping by, I think I'll go for now...I feel a tea break coming on.
Lisa