Plastic Bag Crafts We all know how bad plastic grocery bags are for the environment. Research suggests that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. The city of San Francisco will be first city in the U.S. to take a stand and ban plastic bags in large markets and pharmacies. HOW-TO – Make Plastic Bag Yarn Helle of Gooseflesh who makes amazing crochet sea creatures has a tutorial up on how to make your own yarn from plastic bags. – Link. Plastic Grocery Bags into Knit 1950′s Outfit Cathy Kasdan of Clevland, OH and I were emailing back and forth a bit yesterday afternoon regarding my post on the knitting machines. Knit Plastic Tote BagMagKnits has a pattern by Katherine Vaughan showing you how to knit up this handy tote. Knit Plastic Bag By cutting up strips of plastic, MelGiggles on Craftster knit up this handy tote bag that’s perfect for the beach or pool. Plastic Bag DressMade by mleak on Flickr the dress was fused together to form fabric and then sewn together.- Link.
Origami Instructions - Instructions on How to Make Origami Braided Rug Tutorial: Recycling old towels I had 3 bath towels that had stains on them, but otherwise were in really good shape so I decided to turn them into my next project. I folded each towel in half and cut into 1.5 in strips. I cut up each towel. They were all about the same size towel. I am sure many of you are saying "where is her rotary cutter?" Once everything is cut I sewed 3 strips, one of each color together. Then get those fingers warmed up because there was A LOT of braiding going on. After you braid one set of strips you sew on another. and another ...and another Until you have a giant long braided rope of towels. I then twisted the center and wrapped it around as I hand stiched the rows into place. I stiched it all together on the back with a heavy duty needle and some thread and then your are finished. Have a great DAY!!
the Hobo Sack Whether you’re on the road or hanging at home, every hobo needs a bag for his (or her) treasures. So load it up, hit the road, and sit back on the tracks to enjoy a break. The hobo sack is one of the easiest things to make. It’s a great project for the beginner sewer and even the advanced! So here’s what we’re making: Easy? NOTE: Info for adding a Liner and/or a Ruffle to your bag is at the end of the tutorial.Skill Level: BeginnerNeeded: * 1/2 yard or less of Cotton (light-weight, twill, corduroy, seer sucker, etc. Here is the pattern. Just lay it on your fabric and cut two: Decide what you’d like to use for straps. It sort of curls up in a tube, like this: If you’re going to use knit straps like me, cut (2) straps that are 1 yard (36 inches) long and about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Okay, on to the sack sewing…. Those little corners down there that are cut out is what gives you “room” in the bottom of your bag. Take those two corners that are cut out and fold them up to each other: like this:
How to make gift bags from newspaper When I bought something at a store recently, the clerk handed me my purchase in a bag made from a newspaper. I liked it very much and had to make some more—thus today's DIY recycled newspaper project: gift bags made from the Wall Street Journal. You can vary the dimensions, of course, but here's what I used to create a bag that's 5" tall, 4.5" wide, and 3" deep. Stack two sheets of newspaper on top of each other. Cut out a rectangle that's 15.5" wide and 8.25" tall. Fold a flap 1.25" down from the top. Cut two pieces of cardstock or chipboard to 4.25" x 1", then glue them on the widest two panels just under the top fold. Put glue on the outside of the 0.5" tab and bring the left-most panel over to form the body of the bag, aligning the cut edge of the panel with the folded edge of the flap. Upend the bag so the 2" flap is now up. Put glue on both flaps and fold them inward to form the bottom of the bag.
DIY: Friendship Bracelet chevron rug You know how friendship bracelets are totally back? Well, I can't quite bring myself to get into it after 15 years but I love the bright colors, the patterns, the idea of it....It got me thinking where else I could apply the process and I thought it'd be fun to make a huge friendship bracelet that you could walk on. You know, given my love of all things oversized. After multiple attempts I came up with this rug for the new Chalkboard Magazine (it's awesome. Check it out here). Any other size is too thick to actually use. Materials: 2 sets of 5 colors of fabric, 8-10" wide and 3 meters long; scissors, needle, thread, tape Step 5: With the first piece, move onto the next piece of fabric (yellow here) and repeat the process. Step 8: Go onto the next row (the dark blue) and repeat the process. Step 9: Work until you’ve finished your desired length. Step 14: Voila! Photography by Liv Colliander
my addiction to IKEA, fabrics, and the Big Bag I love IKEA.I know you know that.But in case it was unclear, just wanted to say it again. Like Target, it’s one of those places we go to even when we don’t need anything, sort of as an outing. I throw both kids in the (annoying) shopping carts that have swivel wheels on the front AND the back. Can they please change that??? So hard to steer. But really, it’s the only downfall to Ikea so I can’t get too mad at them (oh wait, they don’t offer bags anymore either. We rush around doing the quick “mom” stuff like looking at dishes, napkins, fabrics, and the As-is section. But back to the point here.So, aside from the yummy $1 cinnamon rolls at the end of our outing, the BEST part about a trip to IKEA is the As-Is section. Some days I don’t find anything but the other week, I saw a small pile of fabrics sitting there. But nope. So here’s what I have. Although, these creations from No Big Dill are way too genius. Hmmm. I started with a couch cushion, found in the As-Is Bin.
Fun with Foam Printing - Easy Tutorial I loved this idea because not only can you recycle these horrid polystyrene containers, but the process is really simple. You could even use tracing paper and trace your design so you don't even need to be able to draw. You could make a whole series of cards like this or just a colorful print to hang on your wall and cheer up the place. Materials needed: Foam or polystyrene container pencil paint or ink small roller 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Happy printing! Original image courtesy of themetapicture Day 63 - DIY Corona Glasses I cannot even tell you how excited I was when I found this pin explaining how simple it is to cut glass bottles. For our first anniversary, my husband signed us up for a glassblowing class. It was awesome and we had a great time. As we were leaving, one of the artists was turning Corona bottles into drinking glasses for a friend’s wedding gift. I was wondering why these glasses weren’t one of the projects we could choose from that day. I left there thinking that Corona glasses could only be made by the glassblowers and their fancy equipment. You can cut glass bottles at home using materials you probably already have on hand. glass bottles yarn nail polish remover lighter sink full of ice water sandpaper 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The hardest part about this project is getting the cut in the right spot. You can make more than just drinking glasses. Source: Crafty Scrappy Happy Related posts:
Recycled Grocery Totes Ready to go green? Then say goodbye to your old grocery bags by melting them into something cute. Afterall, plastic is the new plastic, right? Skill Level: Beginner to IntermediateNeeded: * plastic grocery bags (Target bags work best)* Parchment Paper* Fabric for handles and decor (optional)* IronWe’ll be fusing layers of old grocery bags together to create a stronger “fabric” for our new bags. Let’s get started! 1. I guess Target needs to add #6. I chose to only use the white portion of my bags. Cut the bottom, top and sides off of your bag. Lay the long rectangular sheet flat. This is the tricky part, so I won’t sugar coat it. I found that the best way is to start at the bottom and press the iron up, to get any air bubbles out. When you’re all done, it should look like this, a large sheet of plastic: Continue the process so that you have sheets of this new “fabric” to work with. 2. Cut out your bag pieces using a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and ruler. 3. 4. 5. And….you’re done!
Homemade Mod Podge Don't forget to vote for us daily! Just click on this button and that's all! Thanks! A few months ago I found a recipe for Homemade Mod Podge and wanted to know if it was worth the mess to make it. YES it is, with no mess! Put a strip of masking/packing tape directly on your jar so that you can take it off later easier. Stick the sticker label on the tape. Tape over the label so that it will be semi-waterproof. Mod Podge in a Pint Jar (matte) Fill jar half way up with white glue (like Elmers) Then fill jar up with water. Shake Well. This is a 50-50 mixture glue/water. It will have a Matte finish. If you would like a Glossy finish, add 1 TBS of clear varnish. Shake it! If you have tried it with the varnish, we would love to hear how it went. See it for yourself how it works. Disclaimer: If you are wanting to do a long term or permanent project, the original Mod Podge may work better since they do add additional ingredients that make the finish last longer.
rolled paper flowers {tutorial} Welcome to flower week – five days of simple and delightful flower projects. I could probably do three weeks of flowers because there are so many different ways to create them, but I’ve limited it to five of my current favorites. Before we get started, let me make a few disclaimers: 1. 2. 3. Okay, so let’s begin. Here’s what you’ll need: :: paper {either cover or text weight} :: florist wire :: scissors, pencil, glue gun STEP ONE: cut irregular circle This circle is approximately 8 inches, but you can do any size you wish. STEP TWO: cut spiral Start at the outside edge and cut in a spiral fashion to the center. I like a sort of bumpy shape so that the petals end up a bit irregular If you aren’t so sure about your cutting skills, feel free to draw your spiral before cutting. To add a little interest to my bouquet, I used a variety of yellow scrapbook papers {my favorite is that yellow dot} STEP THREE: roll your blossom start at the outside edge and coil tightly STEP FOUR: release coil