Party decorations for nuthin'

Last spring, my buddy Elizabeth and I were in an Anthropologie store, checking out the merch and like a goofball, I didn't take a photo of their fabulous window display of bright and happy flowers. What the hell?
But I did study the flowers intently and realized they were created from plastic water and soft drink bottles. You heard me. Trashy flowers. Sounds like a grunge band, huh?
The next day, the bottles haunted my brain, especially when I realized Rikki Tikki Tavi's big birthday shindig was approaching. Hello, great decorating idea!
I searched the 'net to find a braver soul's photos and sure as shit, a kickin' chick blogger Calamity Kim had these on flickr. Yay, Kim! (Thanks for allowing me to post your photo.)

(recycled bottles made into flowers
on spoke bicycle wheel
photography by Calamity Kim)

Baby sis RikTikTav saw the photo and approved. We collected plastic bottles while our brother Rollo blamed us for his increased intake of Diet Coke and said he made his son rinse with the soft drink after brushing his teeth because he was under the pressure to accumulate. Shut up and do your part, Rollo.

Bottles rinsed. Let's start cutting.
Sis and I quickly learned that even with the sturdiest scissors, a limited amount of bottles should be cut each day because our hands quickly became sore . . thinking all that tough plastic dulls the scissors and we absolutely do not trust ourselves with knives, box cutters or blade-like terror. Interestingly, the Diet Coke bottles were the toughest to cut. I shared the fact with Rollo and told him Diet Coke must bottle their product in super dense plastic because the ingredients are so corrosive. He didn't care and chugged down another.
The Rikster was in charge of the spray painting.
Fun technique: mist water onto flower then spray with paint. When the water evaporates, a spotty pattern remains. Paint the reverse side of bottle for a super shiny and glossy effect.

We wired the flowers to everything, including a floating life ring in the pool. Plus the white lights around the front door.

Dude, if it is plastic, we painted it.

That's a big ass flower!

Made from a big ass catering tray cover.

Sharing is caring good thing: three big trash bags stuffed with painted plastic flowers and our friends used them for their upcoming events. It's recycled times three!

& Pinwheels for free

Not content to stop with recycled soft drink bottle flowers, I cut up a dog food bag and made pinwheels.
(I was inspired by a forgotten blogger's scrapbook paper pinwheels but hellfire, I cannot remember/find the post. If you've seen it, please let me know so I can give credit.)

Dog or cat food bag, heavy duty plastic

Scissors

Paper fastener brads

Hole punch

String or wire

Cut a square of any size.

(Too large squares result in floppy pinwheels.)

Fold a corner over to determine center.

Mark it or eyeball it. Punch a hole in it.

From a corner toward the center,

make a cut,

leaving a 1/4" or so between the cut and the hole.

Repeat so you have 4 cuts.

Folding the corners toward the center
results in petal-shaped pieces.

Punch a hole in each corner.
From the bottom of one corner,

push a brad into the hole and

fold over toward the center hole.

Repeat, adding the remaining three sections

before pushing brad through center hole.

Secure brad by folding out the "wings".

Punch a hole in top "petal" and hang from string.

Watch the pinwheels flutter in the breeze.

~ OR ~

Wrap light weight floral wire around
brad wings on back for
continuous garland and add more pinwheels.

Cheap and easy, just like your ma!

Tote bag recycle

Do you know what a chair back pocket is? It is sewn like a slipcover with pockets for school kids to store items at their desk.
Because next year's class doesn't use them, this kid's mom gave me his chair back pocket to disassemble for craft fabric but, instead, I recycled it into a tote bag. His name was already embroidered on it, so why not a sturdy heavy weight tote?

• I sewed the open bottom closed and cut the top to form a bag.
  
• Red bias tape applied to top cut edge.
  
• Two plaid neckties were zigzagged and straight stitched for stability and reinforcement then stitched to bag for double straps.
  

Yay! A bag for transporting library books and such.

Check me out

Me! On the home page of CRAFTSTER!!
Totally a surprise. Totally not submitted. Totally a fantastic craft blog day* to see my cat food bags on the Reusable Shopping Bags page! It's on the top row, I tell ya!

Thanks to Moesha for cluing me in to the screen shot save.

Y'know you have a craft problem

when you spy a Welsh Corgi dog image on 2 HUGE dog food bags in a stranger's cart while at the grocery store and wonder if there is any possible scenario where you can ask them for their empty bags because although you don't own dogs, you would love to make a tote with their cast off bags . . . .and the scenario did not include
1. them calling the manager and accusing you off harassment
2. making tote bags for them in exchange
3. being thought of as the crazy lady hoarder

You'll be proud relieved. I didn't approach them.

Have way too much stuff to make as it is,
I am,
Skitzo Leezra

Recycled art

Check out the Earth Counts Green Matters art exhibit at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Most of these pix are works by students with a few by art teachers. Amazing talent!

Cat food messenger bag

How "green" is this?

A messenger bag I made from a cat food bag and free notions. You heard me.

Cleaned and rinsed cat food bag and then kinda made it up as I went along. Instead of attaching a button or closure, I fashioned a tab with a heavy but sparkly belt buckle from the People Give Me Stuff stash. Give me something and I will eventually use it, I tell you. The weight of the buckle will keep the flap down.

Lining made of quilting cotton with a scrap fabric pocket for interior. "Boxed" the corners for a flat bottom.

Because men's neckties are cut on the bias and thus, not very stable, I zigzagged the crap out of the necktie strap. The quilting effect feels fabu.

One side of the strap was long enough to double on itself to form a pocket with the broad tip plus a cell phone pocket.

Look closely for the tie point below the orange stitched strip.



Opposite side of strap with a toggle closure to hold keys.

Just in case you're afraid that I don't know this bag is as ugly as homemade sin, let me assure you, I do. Heinous, perhaps. I was playing around and didn't wanna "waste" good bias tape and a pretty necktie if it didn't work. Thinking I might wanna make another now that I've learned a couple tricks.

Check out my previous cat food tote.

Oh wait, there's more!

A wallet made of the remaining piece with bias tape and a snap.

That's one cat food bag with practically no waste!