How to recreate a silk flowered purse

Ruth says:
I'd like to know how to make a purse like the one I saw on a web site called Blooming Baskets by Lisa, this girl sells these in St. Martin. They sell for $145. 00 for a small one. WOW!!!! I don't want to hot glue the flowers on cause I know they wont last too long. Any ideas that are not too challenging?? I would appreciate it

I feel like I'm on one of those home decorating shows where they recreate the designer room on a budget, LOL. Those are really pretty basket purses, aren't they. I read that she makes the baskets out of raffia - probably one reason that the bags are so expensive. Here's what I would do to recreate the look ... find a purchased bag or tote that is similar in shape and style. Then I would sew the silk flowers to a band of strong fabric/trim, you can probably find something useful in the home dec dept of the fabric store. I'm thinking of buckram. Try to buy silk flowers that aren't glued together - that might make it impossible to get a needle through. I would glue the piece on, then blanket stitch the top and botton edges for added strength (and to help against raveling). The Ultimate Glue is mega strong.

Hope this works!
Judi