We were invited to No.1 Son’s girlfriend’s parent’s house (are you with me?) at the weekend, for a barbeque.

It was his girlfriend’s mother’s birthday (keep up!) so we wanted to take a suitable present, but there was a tiny problem – we’d never met, so I had no idea what she would like.

Obviously I was going to make a gift and, after a little indecision, settled on a purse (wallet, for our U.S. friends) and a matching tote.

I found this great tutorial at Confessions Of A Fabricaholic and got cracking straightaway.

I had some leftover vinyl from the One Hour Ikea Bag and searched through my (massive) stash before whittling it down to these grey and pink coordinating cottons, using just the dotty ones in the end.

The tutorial is pretty comprehensive and soon I had put the main pieces together.

After sewing the outside to the inside, it was simply a matter of turning through to the right side and top stitching.

Et voilá – one (very pretty) vinyl purse!

I chose to fit a magnetic snap closure simply because I’ve got loads of them and they really do give the best finish.

The inside is a purse of two halves – one side is pink, the other is grey.

The grey side holds all the real money.

Coins are kept safe in the zipped pocket….

….which is lined with the contrasting pink.

Notes are stashed in the open pocket below.

The pink side houses the ‘pretend’ money and can accommodate up to eight credit cards or similar.

Just in case there was any doubt I included a label from Hobbycraft.

I whipped up a simple tote using the same principle as the One Hour Ikea Bag but with dimensions and handles more suited to a shopper.

Box corners makes for a more spacious interior.

Matching grey webbing is perfect for two short handles.

I think they make quite a smart set for nipping down to the corner shop for a loaf of bread and a pint of milk. (In my dreams. We don’t have a shop in our village.)

All wrapped up and ready to go – complete with handmade birthday card!

Update: The handmade purse (wallet) and matching shopper was a huge success fortunately – she loved it!