I have seen many beautiful bow tucks on the board that you ladies have made, so could someone please tell me what to go buy for the bottom of the tote. I don't want to use cardboard. Is there some kind of plastic I can cut to the 5.5" by 12" I need? Thank you so much for any help.

I go to the hardware store and buy plastic that is use in windows or doors, fairly cheap.

I've used Temptex, wood, acrylic, old plastic placemats, and the plastic mesh people use for crafts. all work well. I cover all but the acrylic.

what do you use to cut it to size?

They will usually cut it at the hardware store or use my husbands band saw. Then sand the edges.

I like the plastic place mats option, because they are very easy to cut with regular scissors to whatever finished size you need (my bottoms are never the same) and trim if needed after that. They are also incredibly inexpensive, though you might need to two-ply it if you want more rigidity.

I used a piece of foam board. You can get it at JoAnn's, or any arts/craft store.

Go to Walmart and buy a plastic place mat for a table. You can find them for $1 or $2, and probably have enough plastic for 2 or 3 of the purses. I'm guessing that you could cut them with an xacto knife of a heavy duty scissor. Haven't tried it yet, but making a quilted bag is on my list of things to do!

I used a plastic place mat from the dollar store. It was big enough to make two and firm enough to use one layer. I covered it with fabric from the lining. Worked very well and was very inexpensive. Easy to cut with plain scissors.
Sue

I use the foam board from the Dollar Tree!
Can't beat it! You can get LOTS of bottoms out of 1 for a buck! :)