a way to use those old plastic bags!

I'm pretty excited, I finally found a new way to use plastic grocery bags! Admittedly I don't have that many now because I usually bring my own bag to the grocery store, but sometimes I forget, as do my parents. Well now I know what to do with them!

I learned how to fuse plastic bags together to create a stronger and thicker material. You can sew it, cut it into shapes . . . the possibilities are endless!
So far I've been making these cute little flower pins and hair clips. I think they are pretty cute. I pinned one to the dress I was wearing today and it really looked great! I think it would also look nice pinned to a purse or beach bag.

This is how you do it
1. lay plastic bags on top of one another and try to smooth them out as flat as possible
2. stack about 3-4 plastic bags, make sure the inked side isn't going to touch the iron, just turn it over or fold it inside out, I like to put the prettiest bags on the outside:)
3. cut of the handles and the bottom of the bags so you have one even slab
4. put a piece of wax paper (waxy side down) underneath the plastic bags (if it is up the wax paper will fuse to the bags), then I use a piece of printer paper on top
5. heat the iron to a synthetic setting, but if it is not hot enough, turn it up a bit, you kind of have to experiment, my synthetic setting was way to low, but the cotton setting was way too hot, so I settled somewhere in the middle
6. now its time to iron! keep the iron moving and don't let the iron touch the bare plastic bags (they will melt onto it), move the paper around to where you are ironing. I like to start in the middle and work my way to the edges. (also you should probably do this in a pretty well ventilated area)
7. after that side seems pretty fused and stuck together, turn it over and iron the other side
8. ta dah! now you have a plastic bag slab that you can cut up, sew or do to whatever you want!

just remember practice makes perfect, start out slow, this process is pretty easy, but there are always a few kinks to work out.
(I learned the basics through esty labs.)

I'm hoping to fuse some more tomorrow and maybe experiment with making some little change purses or makeup bags. We''ll see how it goes:)

new stuff

Bottle caps everywhere! I had a ball searching through some old National Geographic magazines to get these images. I love flipping through all the incredible pictures they have packed in there! I've ordered some more chain, so hopefully it will come soon and I'll be able to put these puppies together!


So I've posted a few new things on my etsy shop. I still haven't posted quite as many things as I want, but I'm getting ready to show some of my pieces to a shop in Havre de Grace, and I'm preparing to sell some of my jewelry at a music festival in West Virginia. After divvying up everything, it doesn't leave me too much to post.

check it out!


I should be making some more stuff soon so keep an eye out:)

wierd creatures!

So in case you haven't noticed Im pretty obsessed with animals and little creatures of all sorts. I found this website with the worlds 25 wierdest animals!  Some of then are truly amazing and pretty strange.  These are some of my favorites: 

axolotl

aye aye lemur

blob fish ~haha!

dumbo octapus

yeti crab

Aren't they great!  Anyways, I'm thinking I've got to do some kind of art project involving weird animals.   Definitely.

Anyways, heres the website, there are plenty more to look at: 25 worlds weirdest animals

craftathon

So I'd say my craftathon was pretty successful. I managed to make a few more necklaces and earrings, some boxes, and even some hair barrettes. I think these are my favorite for the day:

Gotta love baltimore legend Edgar Allan Poe. I think my uncle gave me these bottle caps, I'll have to find out what kind of beer they are from. The when I turn 21 (in 16 more days) I'll be sure and buy some.

One thing I've realized though, is that I really need to get organized. I really wanna organize my beads once and for all. If you're like me, you have way more beads then anyone has a right to, and they seem to be sprinkled in whatever container was available at the time without rhyme or reason. I think I'd be a lot more efficient if I could downsize my containers and organize things so that I could actually find them. But you know, Ill probably put that off for another few weeks. I at least want it done before I go back to school. It'll make it a lot easier to bring with me.

Anyone have any great bead/craft supplies organization tips?

gotta get to work!

So I just got back from a study abroad trip to New Zealand and upon returning home, I've realized that I have a lot of work to do.  I have to cut myself some kind of break, I was away for five months, but that is a long time without my studio and craft supplies!  Also, I'm pretty broke from all the traveling I did, so right now I really need to balance "work" with my real work:) ("work" is obviously my job stuffing play mice with catnip, and folding t shirts at my dad's shop).

One thing I'm really excited about is all the supplies I've managed to collect from New Zealand. I have TONS of new and interesting bottle caps.  My favorite are Tui caps.  They are bright red and have a black and white bird on them.  I also collected heaps of shells and other fun foreign nick knacks.  I'm also hoping I can find a way to incorporate my photography.  The landscapes in New Zealand are incredible and I would love to use them somehow.  We'll see what I come up with.

So this weekend I'm planning a major craftathon.  Hopefully I'll have more then five things to post on etsy soon;)  

ps. if you are interested at all in New Zealand or my trip, I kept a travel blog.  Some of the entries were about what I was up to (schoolwork and such), but I have tons of travel entries and lots of great photos.  I travelled the most in may.  Go ahead and check it out!

My New Zealand Adventure