Festival of Trees Followup and a Santa Hat / Purse

Our tree was a modest success!   A lady from Athens (Athens, WI) put in a bid for $350.  Also overheard were several nice comments along the lines of "How did they make that?"  and "Finally, a tree that could actually go in a normal person's house!"  
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 Below are two views of the Holiday purse my sister Anne made for grand-daughter and grand-niece.

 

If you Gooogle "Santa Purse" you can find other versions and directions for making your own.

But basically all you do is buy a pre-made Santa hat,  cut it in half horizontally, sew the bottom closed, add a lining inside if desired and sew the cut-off hat top (with pom-pom) just inside the open edge of the purse to make a flap closure.  Handles or straps may be added as desired:  my sister bought 2-inch wide fur trim, folded and sewed it in half lengthwise and sewed the ends into the purse for a long strap.