Backpack Makeover!

How on earth did I NOT post this!  I finished this her first week of school and I swear I thought I posted it then!  Well... I'm just going to post it now.  I wanted it for at the beginning of the school year, but... perhaps your kids backpack needs a makeover already?

Here is her backpack before.  It is my old one from...  Honestly... I don't know cause my husband is using my one from college....  Anyways.  She used this last year for preschool and was happy with it.  This year she is very into Hannah Montana.  We don't have cable, so she never watches it, but that is what she wanted.  To her, anything sparkly and girly is Hannah.

First I put together this mini quilt square of "Hannah" Fabrics.  I was going to look for some at the store, this was before my no crafty stuff til years end pledge, but... I knew she didn't care and I could find something at my house that would work!  I'm sure it's hard to tell, but I used cool stitching on the seems after I sewed it together to give the top a little more flare!

 Then I folded the edges over and pinned it to the outside, large pocket!

 I suppose I could have used a machine for this part, but I wanted you to see the stitching.  I used purple embroidery thread to hand sew the square down.

See!  Cute so far right?

 Next I got some sparkly purple ribbon from my stash.  I put my stitch length at it's longest and the tension as loose as I could and sewed as close to the edge as possible!

 Then I pulled on of the loose threads to ruffle it.  I have a cheap sewing machine and don't have a ruffle presser foot!  One day....

 I decided to put a purple ruffle it two places... one on the opposite side of the zipper than the big pocket. 

 And then more ruffles down the back straps!  I used black embroidery thread to hand stitch the back so that you couldn't see it!

 I then used some shiny green ribbon and ruffled it.  I placed this at the top above the BIG opening to the main part of the backpack.  I would have put another ruffle... but I didn't  want it too ruffly!  lol  Instead I hand-stitched with blue embroidery thread around the middle part to give it more color there.

Ok... to make it "Hannah" I wanted to use freezer paper printing to put a micro phone on the front pocket and then glue sequins or something to it to make it a sparkly mic, but...  My daughter found it and was sooo excited at how it turned out that we left it!  One day I will have to make it match her theme better, but she is pretty easy to please right now!   She has had MANY compliments on her bag.  I was pretty proud at how cute it became!