24 September 2010

Plastic Yarn


The weekend has finally arrived!
This week, we transformed plastic bags from blah to Tada!
And today, I have another idea for you that will take us
to some of my favorite places in New York City.

Our first stop: The American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan.
Some museums blow you away with their extensive collection
and others leave you scratching your head and saying
to yourself, "That's art?"

Well, I particularly like the Folk Art Museum for
the reason that everyday objects are elevated
to art. Objects that you can make yourself
and secretly, you can call yourself an artist!

Take this colorful circle rug for example.

It's made out of plastic bags!
To be more specific, empty Wonderbread bags!

The artist made yarn out of blah plastic bags & wove it into a rug!
In fact, a lot of crafters use this -- plastic yarn or "plarn",
in lieu of regular yarn to crochet or knit into something
fabulous & useful.

Tada! An adorable bag made out of plarn.

Here's another bag using different stitches.

I learned how to make this craft early this year
at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn.

I have to admit, though, that my bag isn't finished
yet {I'm a novice at crochet, still making
a lot of mistakes, eeep!}.

The bags here are all made by the talented Claire Baker,
who was also our teacher that day.
You can find the tutorial here.

Have a happy weekend!


23 September 2010

A Barrage of Buntings


Whenever you're out shopping, a plastic bag takes the trip
back home with you (unless your purchases are packed
in a paper bag or you take your own cloth bag).

Well, there must be other uses for plastic bags
than just lining a garbage can with it, right?

If it starts as a blah...

Turn it into a Tada! -- beautiful buntings
for your next celebration!

They're easy to make: (1) Make a triangle pattern on cardboard.
(2) Trace the pattern on the plastic with a pencil or marker.
(3) Cut the plastic, and (4) Connect the triangles by running
these through the sewing machine.

Limit your hue or use a many colorful plastic bags as you like!

22 September 2010

Buddy for a Rainy Day


When it's raining hard, isn't a bag like this
a godsend when you need to go indoors
with a wet umbrella in tow?

Sadly, not all establishments like shops or
banks give this away.

Why wait for a free bag, when you
can carry one that you already have
from your shopping trips?

But let's turn this blah plastic bag into
something even more Tada!

I made a smaller bag out of the bag
{enough to fit a small folding umbrella}
and sealed the ends by sewing.

Then I added a button & elastic closure.

That way, it can easily be rolled up and the
button closure can keep it from unfurling.

Tada!
This bag will go wherever your umbrella goes.
No more rain puddles at your trail.



21 September 2010

Floral Accent


Very nice to see you today!

We all know what a threat plastic bags are to our environment.
While it will take some time to eliminate them entirely,
maybe we can turn them into something pretty
instead of just throwing them away when
we no longer need them.

This blah plastic bag,

and this blah plastic bag will get a
make-over today.

Tada! The orange bag is now a flower!

I cut the bag into petals. I gathered one end, tightly wrapped some
thread around & knotted it to make the bag look more like a petal.
I did this to all the petals, sewed them together and fluffed
them up for a 3-dimensional look.

The green bag had this pretty design.
{The books are stacked together to look like a leaf.}
So I cut around it, and...

Tada! The flower and leaves make the
perfect finishing touch to a plain box.

Instant gift wrap when you have
no ribbon or wrapper available!


20 September 2010

Challenge: Plastic Bags


Happy Monday everyone!

This week, I'm up for a challenge!
It's a response to an e-mail from Susie:

Hi there! You inspire me so much and I love the fact that we're helping our environment at the same time. A few ideas I would appreciate your creativity on: (1) Old jeans/denim and (2) plastic grocery-type bags. That latter one - plastic - is so detrimental to our environment, I'm really ashamed I still have them once in a while but when I do, I'd like to know what I could re-purpose them for.

Thanks Susie! I've recycled denim here, here and here.
So this week, let's see how we can turn
plastic bags from...

blah...

...to TADA! The plastic bag is now a lei!

It's easy to make: Cut the bag (at least two bags) into strips
and string on a threaded needle in the middle of the strip.
Bunch up the strips and sew the ends together
once you have the desired length.

Give it to your little hula girl.
Or wear at a luau party.

Or turn it into an instant Halloween
costume with a floral dress and a
flower in your hair.

Have a great week!


17 September 2010

Paper Chains


Hooray it's Friday!

All this week, we made stuff that we can use
for any party -- using these blah toilet paper rolls.

Here's one more idea:

With scissors, make small rings out of the roll.

Paint the rings in your desired color
and attach them together with a glue gun.

TADA! A new take on paper chains to decorate your party space.

Have a glorious weekend everyone!


16 September 2010

A Sweet Menu


Happy Thursday!
Today, I've got another party idea for you.

Let's begin with the blah: empty toilet paper rolls.

By trimming it down, adding a coat of paint,
and making one inch slits on the sides,

...it's now a menu holder.
Tada!

It can also work as a seating card or programme
holder for formal events like weddings.

Have a nice day!