I realize I'm a little late to this party. Inspired nevertheless, I've posted mine on my blog today:
http://www.rightmoon.com/docs/archives/000015.html

in my bag right now:

Hi Keri,
I like your blog and book very much. You inspired me. Thank you.
I have a lot of bags, too. I drew some of them down and post on my blog. My next project is to draw what is in my bag.

I have army pants, worn by my dad when he was in Vietnam. In the pockets I have:
A leather soft-sided glasses case containing:
2 scratchboard tools (1 pointy, one with frizzy wires)
an eraser stick
2 Sakura Micron pens (black)
1 black gel pen
1 black ball-point pen
1 green/yellow highlighter
1 black disposable fountain pen
1 blue disposable fountain pen
1 green Sakura Micron pen
1 purple highlighter
1 Dr. Grip 0.5 mechanical pencil
lemon-lime hemp lip balm
Burt's Beeswax lip balm
cuticle oil stick
snap-off craft blade (one of those orange retractable ones)
1 smooth rock
cinnamon gum
Magic Rub eraser
cell phone (only item I slightly dislike)
Taco John's receipt
bank withdrawl slip
pocket watch (cliped to belt loop)
iPod
earbuds
firewire cable
small roll of tape
small paintbrush
paper explaining how to access the county library's website
business card that just says "My Card" on the front
Red wallet that says "zero" on it and contains:
change. no bills. I spent them on lunch
current university ID
old university ID (for school I transfered from)
really old university ID (got in 5th grade so I could go swimming)
2 Hot Topic frequent buyer cards
1 Maurices frequent buyer card, hasn't been punched in 2 years
card with phone number for the safety escort. for my old university
my former (at the other university) advisor's card
2 library cards, one for here and one for the town that the other university was in
ShopGirl card for a store that closed
business card for a guy at the Apple Store's Genius Bar
driver's licence
credit card
dental insurance card
insurance card
newspaper clipping adveertising local 5K
paper with my eyeglasses perscription on it
Replay card
student alumni association discount card (for university I'm no longer attending)
paperclip
key ring clipped to belt loop contains:
grocery store discount card
student alumni association discount card (for university I'm no longer attending)
key to my apartment
key to my parent's house
plastic that has the combination to my lock printed on it
mini tool that has pliars, pocket knife, and bottle opener
bike key
computer caple lock key
replay card
caribeaner-type clip

*Light blue journal with the words "I dare you" on the cover
*The Secret Life of Bees:
*Day planner
*Umbrella
*Ballet slippers
*Knee brace
*Yoga pants and a shirt for ballet class
*Crochet hooks
*Pens
*Used tram ticket from Prague
*Ticket from surrealism exhibit at the Phillips Collection
*Wallet
*Napkins
*Business cards
*Gum
*Cold medicine
*Rewetting drops
*Green tea and mint lip balm
*Nail clippers
*Ear plugs
*Friendship bracelet
*Comb
*Avon lotion stick
*Water bottle
*Various cds

I had to blog on this today as well:

http://www.dailyjanet.com/blog/archives/00000109.htm

Your site is so inspiring -- thank you!

contents of my handmade bag from guatemala:
-small notebook
-3 pens (all the same kind, i only write with rollerball pens)
-3 kinds of lip balm (i have lip balm collection and i try to rotate) one in a tin, two in tubes
-lip gloss (not to be confused with the lip balm!)
-wallet made out of duct tape with much-used library card in easy access front pocket
-cell phone
-keys
-the secret life of bees (currently reading during work lunch hours and any spare moments i can)
-loose quartes i save for laundry
-leather business card holder that i bought for 50 cents second hand. holds friend's business cards and my own. soft leather has been attacked by my kitty and is now all scratched up. i was mad at first, but now it makes me think happy kitty thoughts every time i bring it out.
-coin purse with few coins - most end up loose in the corners of the bag
-lipstick (hum, forgot i had this in here...)
-headache pills (migraines, yuck)
-pocket tissue pack (currently fighting a cold)
-airborne fizz tabs (for cold)
-3 packets of gum: teaberry, big red, polar ice
-asian pocket purse with store membership cards, additonal library cards, coffee punch cards, etc.
-every reciept for the last month (whew, need to file those)
-inhaler
-cat toy and any bits of plastic i find that would make a good kitty hockey puck toy. my cat digs in my bag for these prizes - so cute to see him half in/out of my bag digging for treasure.
-cds for work computer
-a cat claw layer that my cat shed (?) and i found on my window sill.
-letter from friend
-cat hair (of course!)

Hey Keri,
Love your site! Well, I keep changing my bag according to my outfit, but inside it remains the same.
Wallet, palm pilot, hand cream, perfume, tissues, papers concerning recent projects, postcard by a friend, top 100 books list, mobile, cd of favourite images, pens, elastic band, notebook, & a book when out for a long time.
cheers

In my handbag:
-wallet
-40 atm receipts
-lint
-pennys
-shekels
+ soon to be receipt from the purchase of 'Live Out Loud'
Cole

in my bag:

- books, books, and more books...
- pens in various colours + the favourite, a black fountain ink
- journal
- phone
- fragrance
- concealer
- tea tree lip balm
- purse including some money, lots of membership cards, empty gum wrappers and junk
- eraser
- kleenex
- headache pills
- apple in plastic bag
- something to remind me of my beloved

My bag has to be able to carry safely two notebooks, one discman, agenda, snacks, make-up, the book I happen to be reading at the time and other randon stuff (a hairbrush, money purse, crayons - anything goes)... I'm not obsessed with bags but I do hold to mine like Felix the Cat's magic yellow purse!

At the moment I walk around with a burgundy leather bag - big enough to fit my world in it. Suits me just fine :)

Hi there,
I love big bags where I can put all my stuff. It must have a long string because I don´t like carrying bags in hand, need them free :o)
Today I carry dark green bag with bright orange stiching. Its content:
* book Anita and Me by Meera Syal
* 3 skein of purple yarn for a hat and mittens for my friend
* purse
* mobile phone called Maxim
* chocolate bar with coffee filling
* keys
* paper tissue
* green diary & pen

E.

My Mom's purse always weighed like it contained 2 bowling balls! She carried wallet, makeup bag with dozens of lipsticks, comb, brush, tweezers(?), nail clippers, emery boards, Wrigley's Spearmint Gum, Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Gum, address book, notepad with randomly used and unused pages, pens, pencils, erasers (the big square kind), pressed powder, earrings that might have become wearisome in the day's travels and needed to be removed, peppermint candies, TONS of loose change that didn't make it into the changepurse, scads of receipts wadded into little paper balls (unless notes had been written on them or phone numbers), sketchpad, camera, rolls of used film needing to be developed, lint-brush, the occasional bottle of nail polish (might need a little "culluh"), WADS of tissues ready for the impromptu crying spell (?), and a .22 calibre revolver (yes, Mama packed heat, and knew how to use it.) (The only time I ever saw her use her gun was to kill a rattlesnake in the yard to protect her babies.)

i have mostly tiny evening bags or big satchels or messenger bags, a couple small totes and one or two "normal" size bags.

my bag today was a straw tote with a cotton lining that holds the following:
ReadyMade magazine
Lavender Hello Kitty wallet with $10
CTA transit map
pen
my wacom tablet (comes to and from work)
kleenex
earplugs (for subway)
lipstick
vitamins
sunglasses
keys with a Hello Kitty charm
cell phone
pepper spray
i usually have a notebook, too. i'm in between. the last one i bought is too pretty to use just for jottings.

I did it. I drew my handbag!

xo, c.

i've got a bit of a bag thing too. i use one for a while then realize "i'm about due for something new". maybe i should think about getting rid of some of the old ones clinging to the hangers in my closet.

i'm so lucky my sister makes bags, i've always got somewhere to get a new one!!!

as for items in my bag, they change almost daily. static things would be:

* wallet
* asthma inhaler (how cool am I?)
* sketchbook
* pen
* lip balm (always changing, right now i'm hooked to vanilla)
* change purse my sister made with multi-coloured stripes.
* midol (this is really just a 1 week of each month accessory)
* camera cell phone
* keys
* mints
* "ideas" notepad

I tink I am an exeption. Every bag I buy, I hate after a week, and I don't even buy many. I rather walk around without bag. Which wrecked me this afternoon. I went to the dentist with my wallet in my pocket. Then I thought I could get some groceries. So I had to get home with four plastic bags and a frozen face. Waiting for the subway I got up from the bench lifting the weight at the same time, ouch. My worn disc. I don't even remember how I got home...

Hello Keri,
I was directed to your blog by a LiveJournal friend and what's the first thing I see? Bags!
I have a staggering collection--all either thrifted or made by artists' hands--and I am always eyeballing more. It is an illness.

Sometimes I like to pretend that someone from a magazine has just called me up and asked me what three things I can't live without, or what I would take to a desert island. Don't we all want someone to take an interest in the minutiae of our daily lives? In this spirit, I give you my list:

A friend bought me a monstrous old-lady handbag I'd been admiring in a secondhand store. It is maroon leather and rather triangular in shape, with a cutout on top so your little hand can hold on to the bag. It's about the size of a small briefcase. In it you would find:
1. pink "le chicken" journal
2. blue fountain pen from HEMA in Amsterdam
3. blue QueenBee wonderwallet with red star
4. eyeglass case
5. knitting (red and black striped legwarmers)
6. letters to be answered
7. The Adventures of Cat and Girl no. 3 (mini-comic)
8. sheets of stationery from the Society of California Pioneers
9. Invincible Summer no. 5 (zine)

In the center clasp pocket I have:
1. rosebud lip salve
2. miniature Aquafresh extreme clean toothpaste
3. toothbrush
4. emery board and nail buffer
5. pink mesh bag containing 2 lipsticks, one hand salve, spare homemade lip balm, and a tiny mirror
6. jojoba butter in a jar (for hands)
7. hair elastics
8. fountain pen (orange) with a bull on it, from a stationer's in Amsterdam (I have a problem with buying fountain pens)
9. Streetlight Records coupons
10. Kiehl's tinted lip balm in #58B

I'm addicted to bags, just not the small ones, as I tend to carry my life with me everywhere I go. And they need to have little pockets to help me organize the bits and pieces I like to have "just in case."

Currently lugging:
-Moleskin 6x9 sketchbook (most important!)
-iPod (second-most important!) and earphones
-spiral notebook with dots for rules and encased in a lime softcover folder, for notes and things
-Vanishing Point by David Markson (great novel)
-CD jewel case with 1 blank CD-R and last night's Photoshop comps
-wallet (almost empty)
-hair clip
-small purple makeup pouch with lipstick, lipliner, mini-hairbrush, lipgloss, 2 Benadryl allergy tablets, foldable scissors, emery board, band-aids, and a bracelet of tiger-eye beads
-hand lotion
-Metrocard (NYC transit fare card) in a clear plastic case
-mirror
-2 pens, 2 Bic pencils (cheap kinds, the best ones for sketching quick studies), Staedtler eraser, keys with Marvin the Martian's head for a chain trinket (the body got cut off after a while), eyedrops, cherry- and strawberry-flavored Starburst candies, and 2 Listerine pocket-paks
-cell phone
-stainless steel business card holder (looks like a cigarette case)

And that's pretty much my life on any given day. Hm. That's quite a bit, isn't it? Maybe I need to simplify...

love reading about what you all have in your bags!

i make handbags, too, and while they aren't tiny they aren't huge either (limited by the size of an album cover). since i have so many on hand, i take a different one almost every day (today it's a beautiful red and black and white 'ray charles: modern sounds in country and western music'), so my contents are streamlined down to:

-- business cards in a holder which has mermaids on the front, putting hair vigor on their long locks while a ship sinks in the background
-- a chococat wallet (chococat looks just like my kitty)
-- several lipsticks and lipglosses
-- eyeglasses case
-- cell phone
-- my shopping list from last night
-- a sharpie

that's about it :)

The danger of switching purses is that you won't always have Everything that you need along with you on any given day. But I've been intrigued with bag making also--two knit felted ones in the past few months, one of them Velveeta-orange. Recently I have become the owner of some wonderful 50s barkcloth in one of those hideous atomic energy prints. I think that's going to become a bag also, with some outsized piping.

I always carry:
1. Wallet/checkbook.
2. Zip pouch with my pile of punchcards for various shops.
3. Hand lotion.
4. Lipstick, Burt's Bees lipbalm.
5. Sketchbook/journal.
6. Spiral calendar--2004's has Paris scenes.
7. Gum--Spearmint Extra.
8. Pen.
9. Digital camera.
10. Atomic Fireballs.

i have alwayes loved large bags (i tend to be out and about for long days, so it has to be large enough to carry a small house).
the must haves: book (at least one), journal, CD's player, CDs. i like buying a few lolly-pops and putting the in my bag, and finding one a few days later. i have a small kelidescope a friend gave me, that i sewed a little felt bag for, and it's fun to take out and look things from a different angle.
:)
BTW, i love your site, i read it all the time, and it always makes me smile. thank you!

I was always the type to have only one purse per two seasons: usually black leather or black fabric for fall/winter and brown straw or brown fabric for spring/summer...boooooring! About two years ago I decided to break out of the style rut and scored a couple of cute, colorful bags for a ridiculously small sum. I couldn't believe the amount of compliments I received for these cheap little darlin's. Now I use one for a bookbag (loden green satin on back/large taupe and loden green squares on front, each embroidered with an asian inspired flower motif). Today it accompanied me to my local library and was packed with:

3 videotapes ("Rich in Love", "Maybe Baby", "Bad Day at Black Rock")
2 Country Living magazines (home decorating)
2 CD's - film soundtrack to "Chicago" and an Astrud Gilberto cd

Keri, you might enjoy checking out San Diego, CA handbag entrepreneur Brandi Shigley's website (great blog/journal too!) at www.bshigley.com

As always, thanks for helping to keep me sane and entertained during this long, cold winter.

Hi Keri--
My 1 1/2 year old daughter loves to get into my purse and I love to watch her carefully take things out, dissect them, put them down side by side on the floor in a very orderly fashion, and then put them back in one by one. Her favorite item is a bookmark from my planner--it has some sticker photos (the ones from a sticker photo booth) of us-- her mama and baba (when they were still dating) and one of us-- her mama, baba and older brother (back when he was almost 2) before she was born. I think she wonders why she's not in any of the sticker photos...

On a somewhat related note, have you ever come across this?
http://www.unclaimedbaggage.com/

I saw it on a PBS show with about these guys
http://www.allmylifeforsale.com/html/project/BookStuff.html

:)maia

eek. Which bag? I've always got a selection on the go.

I hate to go out unprepared, hence the heavy load of crap!

- cd walkman
- business cards (always need them when I don't have them and never when I do)
- a bandaid (unused!)
- cameras (Horizon, LCA, Holga, Windsor, SX-70)
- Flash
- kleenex (travel pack)
- light meter
- Liquid Expresso blue pen
- notebook (lined)
- R.D Laing "The Politics of Experience"
- bell hooks "We Real Cool"
- dream journal
- cds (Lauren Hill, Nina Simone, Blue Note comp., Pavement, fave mixed, Led Zepplin III)
- headphones
- fluff
- another pen
- film
- AA batteries

sorry keri
i have crazy fingers tonight...i posted that message twice...whoops.
r

So just recently my most favorite orange vinyl bag brooke, I got it three years ago and it has been a dear dear friend. So lately i have been in a very bad transition period.
I made the mistake of not empting the broken bag completly and started carring around my super cute "matt and nat" hand bag. This bag is delicous, grey and pink...but two problems...one it is a hand bag (i am notorious for losing anything that is not tied or wrapped tightly to my body) and two it holds maybe a wallet and stick of lip balm on a good day. So then I moved to one of my boyfriends old bags, some black thing from Mountain Equipment. It's size is great, but it is old and stiff...and kind of grumpy if you ask me (i think he was left to long in the basement). Well anyway to top it off I ended up running out the door one morning in a super rush, and suddenly realized that I had let my life spill across and into the mouths of three bags, I was in such a rush I had to cram them all into one of my large mexico sacs (you know one of the ones with the virgin mary stamped on the side).
So these days I am carrying around three bags in one, and here are some of the highlights:

~lip balms~lip medex, lip rescue, burts bees
~ticket from Yo La Tengo
~my Monster Time Scheduling book
~journal
~The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
~Balancing Act, a book about ladies and business
~plush monster prototypes and fabric swatches
~one tree's worth of transfers...oh the joys of TTC
~$1000 key chain, which i won at Vinnies Bar and Grill for kicking butt at Basketball and Tekken.
~recipe for enchiladas
~these tampax tampon samples that my sister gave me for christmas as a joke
~random scrap pages from my "job" cut up and stapled together like a journal and covered in writing from that day when i forgot my journal at home
~a million art show invitations from all around the cityt cause they are just so dang pertty and keep my dreaming during long street car pile ups!

cheerios
rhya

ps...these purse entries are GOLDEN

So just recently my most favorite orange vinyl bag brooke, I got it three years ago and it has been a dear dear friend. So lately i have been in a very bad transition period.
I made the mistake of not empting the broken bag completly and started carring around my super cute "matt and nat" hand bag. This bag is delicous, grey and pink...but two problems...one it is a hand bag (i am notorious for losing anything that is not tied or wrapped tightly to my body) and two it holds maybe a wallet and stick of lip balm on a good day. So then I moved to one of my boyfriends old bags, some black thing from Mountain Equipment. It's size is great, but it is old and stiff...and kind of grumpy if you ask me (i think he was left to long in the basement). Well anyway to top it off I ended up running out the door one morning in a super rush, and suddenly realized that I had let my life spill across and into the mouths of three bags, I was in such a rush I had to cram them all into one of my large mexico sacs (you know one of the ones with the virgin mary stamped on the side).
So these days I am carrying around three bags in one, and here are some of the highlights:

~lip balms~lip medex, lip rescue, burts bees
~ticket from Yo La Tengo
~my Monster Time Scheduling book
~journal
~The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
~Balancing Act, a book about ladies and business
~plush monster prototypes and fabric swatches
~one tree's worth of transfers...oh the joys of TTC
~$1000 key chain, which i won at Vinnies Bar and Grill for kicking butt at Basketball and Tekken.
~recipe for enchiladas
~these tampax tampon samples that my sister gave me for christmas as a joke
~random scrap pages from my "job" cut up and stapled together like a journal and covered in writing from that day when i forgot my journal at home
~a million art show invitations from all around the cityt cause they are just so dang pertty and keep my dreaming during long street car pile ups!

cheerios
rhya

ps...these purse entries are GOLDEN

Very cute drawings btw! I love your inspirations Keri! :) In my bag there are quite a few things:
~two different shades of lipstick
~lipliner
~checkbook
~planner
~VS hand lotion
~blue ink pen
~oriental journal that is red
~Savings book
~wallet(with $0)LOL
~stamps
~my Nextel
~disposable cameras I need to get developed..haha
I think that is it :)

it's amazing to see what us ladies can carry in our little bag. we are prepared for anything. heheh no wonder my boyfriend is so afraid of purses. well let's see what i've got looming in the mysterious dark hole of stuff...

* red soft leather journal
* decorated, barely new sketchbook
* three pens
* striped wallet to carry cash, coins, and lots of business cards from places i love to eat at.
* yellow ligtning, red covered check book
* an envelope filled with some money ready to be deposited (finally money in my account!)
* sabrina ward harrison inspired date book
* receipts with no home to go to
* starbucks involvment in coffee-origin coutries brochure... soon to be used for my next collage
* barnes and noble newsletter
* a list of books that are soon due back at the library
* a little mirror in case there is something stuck in my teeth
and a * rubber band to put up my hair

my goodness i have too much. but wait there is always room for more... what else can i add....

it's amazing to see what us ladies can carry in our little bag. we are prepared for anything. heheh no my boyfriend is so afraid of purses. well let's see what i've got looming in the mysterious whole of stuff...
* red soft leather journal
* decorated, barely new sketchbook
* three pens
* striped wallet to carry cash, coins, and lots of business cards from places i love to eat at.
* yellow ligtning, red covered check book
* an envelope filled with some money ready to be deposited (finally money in my account!)
* sabrina ward harrison inspired date book
* receipts with no home to go to
* starbucks involvment in coffee-origin coutries brochure... soon to be used for my next collage
* barnes and noble newsletter
* a list of books that are soon due back at the library
* a little mirror in case there is something stuck in my teeth
and a * rubber band to put up my hair

my goodness i have too much. but wait there is always room for more... what else can i add....

In my handbag right now:
Pocket-sized Moleskine sketchbook
Pocket-sized Moleskine quad ruled book I use to write down Japanese words I need to know (I'm living in Japan)
Mindfulness in Plain English by Gunaratana
Wallet with credit cards, Yen, US drivers license, and my Japanese Alien Registration Card
Three different kinds of lip balm
Pocket sized tissue packs they give away free on street corners
Ziploc bag with a pair of socks in progress (knitting)
Mechanical Pencil
Rollerball Pen
iPod

I am so enjoying reading these. My favourite inclusions:

recipe for buckwheat pancakes
an antique handkerchief with a "B" monogram
two small tins that used to hold gum (now they hold
interesting shells and bits that I find on my walks)
punch cards for every café in the metro area

Well. I seem to be the only one here NOT bag crazy. However, I do have one. But it only goes as far as the front seat of my car. I'm just not into carrying one around. I like to be free. Anyway, don't laugh, but the one in my car is so not cool compared to everyone's hand made and otherwise neat-o ones. It's a National Wildlife Federation one. Ya know, the free ones you get for making a donation?
Here's what's in the thing:

-book, The Highly Sensitive Person
-3"x3" spiral bound notebook
-sunglass case
-various receipts
-pen
-journal
-date book
-travel vial of Aleve (rarely used, thank goddess)
-the cigarette lighter from my car (don't know why it's in my bag)
-map of my local nature center
-directions to a Xmas party I went to
-2 Always pads

I am getting into the look of the messenger style bags. Maybe I'll get one and actually carry it around....
This was fun!

I, too, am obsessed with bags. In fact I am so obsessed that I learned to knit so I could knit and felt my own. Currently I am using an orange and hot pink felted tote containing:

1 multicolored rolled brim hat (made by me)
1 pair of black and gray gloves with different colored 3D flowers on the fingers (made by some lovely ladies in Peru)
1 pair of Coyote sunglasses
1 cardkey pass to the parking garage and office door - on a black lanyard with orange witches flying over moons
1 digital camera
1 very old blue Nokia cell phone
10 CD’s containing java policy and Active X installers I need to run on some laptops in a school where I am doing research
2 chocolate Tootsie Pops
1 square silver tin of mints
1 tube of Medicated ChapStick
1 set of keys with a New Mexico key chain
1 orange (with a sky blue bird detail) Wonder Wallet from Queen Bee Creations (containing 1 drivers license, 1 bank card, 1 Village Books frequent customer card, 1 train schedule, 1 check book, 1 box Goody's Powders, 25 US dollars and seventeen pennies and a receipt from my last Target shopping adventure)
1 miniature toy of Guy Smiley
1 black Sharpie marker
1 purple plastic bottle cap redeemable for 1 20oz. coke product
Orange and pink lint

Of course this will all change when I switch to a new bag.
Cheers,
Amy

In my little brown leather purse (the first one I've ever carried as an adult):

an antique handkerchief with a "B" monogram
two small tins that used to hold gum (now they hold
interesting shells and bits that I find on my walks)
punch cards for every café in the metro area
a pair of gloves
four or five micron pens
my passport
a gift certificate to Victoria's Secret
a sketchpad I made one day when stuck at a friend's house.
it is bound with newspaper.
my keys, with a Norway keychain
two cds - one with images from a project, another is a music cd
chapstick
two pairs of dangly earrings
Jamaican and Spanish currency, and one euro (I work at a café, people leave odd tips occasionally)

All the useful stuff, like my bank card and id, stay in my pockets where I've been putting them for years.

Hey Keri,

I wrote you an email yesterday...I design and make handbags! Talk about an addiction! I do have to say that some of my favorites are not mine. They were gifts and made of felted wool...cool stuff. My bag is just full of so much junk for such a small bag...

nail file
three lip glosses
wallet
eyeglass case
sunglasses
paystubs
fabric samples pinned together (you never know when you need to go to the fabric store!)
a bic pen
a list for the fabric store
an old insurance bill
cell phone
a Liberty 2002 silver dollar
a lighter (no, I don't smoke)

Just a bunch of junk I do not want to be carrying around.

In my big, favorite, canvas bag:
-Two large, messy binders
-One large leather sketchbook
-One bright blue journal
-Pens, pencils, whiteout
-Vitamin C
-Loose crinkled papers
-Discman with Coldplay cD
-Two books, 'Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'Wasted'
-Purple waterbottle

And in the smaller compartment...
-Pads
-One tiny hairclip
-Grapefruit lip gloss

I love pocketbooks and tend to buy them all the time. I'm a big kid at heart at most often I have a toy or two in my bag as well as necessities:

*a small little change purse (which contains some giftcards, a teeny tiny pig named Dizzy, a little plastic man name Steven, a Roman soldier named Tony, breath strips and Twinkie scented lip gloss
*lipstick and lip gloss (must keep those lips supple)
*calculator
*spare keys (I lock myself out of my apartment too many times to mention)
*address book
*cell phone
*sunglasses
*wallet
*hand lotion (an addiction)
*eye drops

It seems like a lot but I still have a lot of space for more things. I used to carry a little parachute man but he's taken off. I must find that little bugger one of these days.

It might be a little fruity but I don't care I love bags and puting so much stuff in them that I could not be board if I wanted to. When I buy a bag I like it to be pretty large. My friend dave calls the one I use right now my suit case. It is not that big.

In my bag at this moment is.
- Newspaper (usually the sunday times from the last sunday and that days paper)
- Red sharpie
- 2 BIC black pens
- zoloft pen (no I am not on zoloft :) )
- My sony cybershot (this thing is big)
- 8.5x11 hard cover sketch book.
- 2 small moleskine note books (lined)
- 1 larger moleskine sketch book
- glue
- masking tape
- succors
- The Da Vinich code (my current reading)
- million little pieces (another book I am reading on and off)
- lighter
- my script for west-side story
- Hand grip
- rubber bands
- starburst candy
- glasses cleaner
- cleaning cloth
- my cards
- 2 eyeglass cases
- keys

Now you know why I cary around such a huge bag. I have a load of stuff to cary around. I never mind the weight tough I guess I am just used to it :).

I've always been fascinated with purses and their contents and ran across a fashion spread in a really hip japanese magazin where twenty women walking down the street were asked at random to open their bags up for all the world to see. I even used to have a column in my online webzine that did the same thing, but I stopped running it.
Over the holidays a friend asked me what I carry around in my bag. I'm a big bag person as well, but this is what I usually have in my bag.

Journal/a pen or two/my idea book (sketchbook)/ cellphone (if I'm in the Philippines)/Bottle of Escada Ibiza Hippie Perfume (really pretty bottle)/something for the lips (balm or gloss)/sued italian wallet from my mom/keys with a big purple spider for a keychain, so I don't have to look too hard/sometimes discman/book or magazine du-jour/ loose change (Philippine Pesos and US coins)

It's quite a haul. But it usually means I never get bored.

never been a bag-lady...but I love looking online at the ones people make...who knows why???... I love Voz's at www.fishcakes.com

ps.. it seems I have become a blog-head ... the list goes like this..Andrea, Keri, Danny...in any particular order..love you guys! crazy huh?..Fern

I am obsessed with bags, but in the sense that I can never find the perfect one. I have several, but none of them have everything I want in a bag. The search goes on! For now, I am carrying a large, out of season dark brown straw bag with beige and white-striped fabric on the inside, where there is but one zipper pocket.

Anyway, the contents are:
-- big black binder with all my budgeting stuff inside
-- the composition notebook that I've been using as a journal
-- the past few days' mail, already opened
-- Benefit make-up case
-- small, black Goody hairbrush
-- checkbook
-- beige vinyl wallet (snaps closed) with the character Purin printed on it
-- my mostly obsolete day planner (black vinyl, zippers closed)
-- copy of my latest zine, Pumpkin #1
-- Pigma Micron 08mm pen

(I just found your site a few days ago and have been so inspired and happy for it. I can't wait to read your book!)

~~Amy

I tend to have just one bag on the go. It has to be a reasonable size (large enough to hold a book ... or two), an inside pocket for my Palm, an outside pocket (zipped) for my small digital camera and a slot for my mobile.

Contents include:

digital camera
spare (charged) batteries
Palm
small notepad
propelling pencil
fountain pen
tin Herbin Sueur ink cartridges
vanilla lipsalve
mobile phone
purse (money)
pink index cards
keys (with Buckingham Palace key ring)

I use my bag until it either gives up the ghost or I decide it's time for a new one. It's hard though finding a bag that meets my specification - I'm always in search of the perfect bag. Jane Shilton or Suzy Smith bags are usually good choices.

I, too, have an obsession with bags. Little ones, big ones, bright ones, beaded ones...you name it. I have a bin dedicated to them at home. Right now I have a bag inside a bag. The bigger bag contains:
-aspirin
-about 13 pens of different sorts
-one pencil
-a biggie eraser
-red leather planner
-a colorful hand made journal
-various post its and notes to myself
-a check stub
-a smaller bag.

In the smaller bag (beaded):
-cell phone
-another pen
-bright turquoise change purse
-chapstick
-red lipstick
-a mini perfume

Yes, Keri: congratulations on your bloggie nomination. That's wonderful. I'll vote for you one hundred times. And I'm glad you had a good meeting with Andrea. That must have been one great conversation. : )

i, too, am crazy about the handbags. i've tried to curb the habit, but to no avail. i've stopped buying them (i.e. i haven't bought one this month) but, of course, now that i'm learning to sew, i have plans to make several of my own. trouble!

so, the bag i'm using today i call my mini mary poppins bag. it looks like it was made from turquoise and brown drapes. inside, i've got:

- my keys with a pewter winnie the pooh keychain
- a sky blue wallet
- a moleskine 2004 diary
- a purple plastic pencil bag with several pens, pencils and a metal sharpener
- a beaded coin purse with the face of a smiling little asian girl
- a cellphone tucked away in one of the many pockets (pockets are key to a good bag!)
- a silver textured dotted business card holder
- a denim make-up bag (filled with all kinds of goodies)
- 10 x 10" spiralbound sketchbook

oh, about halfway through the list, i had the burning urge to sketch it all. i may have to go somewhere at lunch and do just that. thanks, as always for the inspiration. xo, c.

Oooooh, I have a thing for little kits. So many ideas coming in. Tins are perfect for this.
k.

I loved the comment about a "portable comfort zone (little world)" because it explains exactly how I've always felt about the bags I carry around. And why I'm always interested in acquiring/making new bags. The one I have right now is from MEC, a simple olive green cloth shopping type bag that for some reason I really really like. It folds up into the pocket on the outside.
The most important thing I always have in my bag is some kind of miniature kit. On some excursions it's for crafts, but usually it's an art kit. The one I have right now is in a rectangular muji box, and it has pencils, a pen, an eraser, a sharpener, mini metal ruler, mini tape/stapler and 2 smaller kits within the art kit. The first is a tin with two bears having a birthday party painted on it with miniature crayons inside, and the second is a case with 12 miniature pencil crayons, sharpener and eraser. The whole thing is 2.5" wide x 7.5" wide x 1" deep!
See, it's little worlds inside a little world inside a little world.
Thanks for all the stories on your lovely blog.
Claire

In my bag right now (courier style ordered from Jenny at frecklewonder.com):

* mini-disc player and headphones
* maisonneuve and Q magazine
* new moleskine notebook
* 5 lipsticks/lip balms
* Dove deodorant (fresh scent)
* 2 pieces of fabric from an in progress sewing project
* 2 Bigelow Green Tea with Lemon teabags
* Revlon Colourstay Liquid Liner (black)
* a "pill" shaped container from the MOMA with various painkillers in it
* mini first aid kit
* recipe for buckwheat pancakes
* a note/drawing from my husband
* a Vulcan Dub Squad CD
* Canadian Press styleguide

Phew...that's it!

My purse isn't very interesting, but I always carry a second bag with my knitting in it. In that bag is a little bag, which carries the good stuff: random pieces of string, a bright yellow sewing tape measure, a black magic marker, a chenille boa pattern from five years ago, an *NSYNC sticker circa 1998, chapstick and cuticle cream, as well as scissors and a pencil.

Funny how my drawing was originally inspired by you though my thing was so much cruder than what I thought you might do and then to see those bags! Wow. Lovely.
I'm so glad you got to meet Andrea. It sound like you had a great meeting of the minds. I've also been meaning to send you congrats about your Bloggie nomination. I know you'll win. Have you prepared your acceptance speech yet?
Thanks for being one of the main reasons I started my own blog. Now if only I can get my new host to cooperate so I can get some fresh stuff up there. It;s sort of smoking charred ruin right now.
Yours,
one of the little people,
Danny