Happy 40th Birthday Marcia!  Here’s your present, finished this afternoon (I’m sorry that you won’t get it on time):

It’s the Pleated Beauty Handbag from Amy Karol’s book “Bend the rules sewing”, with a few modifications.  The spotty canvas is from Spotlight; the lining fabric from G & J’s Fabrics.  The whole bag is interlined with a soft but substantial interfacing, and has a firm base made from Fast-to-Fuse (there is a great tutorial for how to use it as a bag base on http://www.nicolemdesign.com.au).  I also included a magnetic snap closure, two inside patch pockets, and a key fob.

And another view to finish off with:

(By the way, Marcia doesn’t read my blog, so this will still be a surprise!)