Tree Hugging Time

It’s Arbor Day!

As in trees.  We all like those, right?  Good, glad that’s settled.

So today, instead of hugging trees (I did that last week for Earth Day), I thought I would celebrate them in one of the only ways I know how: through a Pinterest round-up!!!  (Even I see the dorky-ness in that last sentence.)

As always, click on the image or refer to the caption to find the original source.  And please let’s all have good blogging-pinning karma: if you choose to repin any of the ideas below, give credit where credit is due, i.e., to the link attached to the image and not this blog (though you’re welcome to give me a “via” credit).

DIY jewelry tree {Source: Shades of Tangerine}

Branch clothes rack {Source: Emma's Design Blog}

Tree Shower Curtain {Source: From Me to You}

Tree Wall Shelves {Source: Kid Crave}

Mondrian-inspired tree art {Source: Thorunn Arnadottir design}

Tree wall {I couldn't find the source for this one -- It was a pin on Pinterest with a dead link. If anyone knows what website this is from, let me know so I can properly attribute this image. Thanks!}

Wall decal {Source: Wall Words}

{Source: Bloesem Blogs}

Birch tree wall art {Source: Originally an Etsy item that has since sold}

Tree wall {Source: Apartment Therapy}

Framed tree branch art {Source: Cleverly Inspired}

{Source: Tangle Tree Interiors}

Tree birthday card -- Source: ~ a paper {life}

Sectioned tree art {Source: Ideas to Steal}

Ah, the tree: Oxygen provider and home decor muse extraordinaire.

Grab a button if you were featured in this week’s round-up!

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Leisure Time and Rosario the Paintbrush

I’m a terrible person to sit and watch a movie with.  I’m slightly better for TV shows (perhaps because they are inevitably shorter ), but not much better.

I JUST CAN’T STAND STILL.

It’s not ADD.  It’s just that I can’t stand the thought of not multi-tasking.  I’ll sit down, resolve myself to one task, assure Josh that I’m in it for the long haul, and before I know it my hands have magically found a bottle of nail polish… or a piece of paper just begging to have a to do list written upon it.

And these things always seem to be lying around — perhaps my subconscious strategically positions them for my multi-tasking advantage?

(It’s this fact about me that makes me a terrible patient.  Even when I had mononucleosis in high school and I was told to “sleep and rest as much as possible,” I remember very few times where I was actually in bed.  Thus the reason why when I get sick, I tend to stay sick longer than the average person — just in case you thought I never washed my hands or took my vitamins, Judgy McJudgerson.)

So… this past weekend when I was done with my princess gigs (true story), I set out to do the unthinkable: watch a TV show and do. nothing. else.  Just the idea made my hands fidget, but I knew that I must try to do these things occasionally… it’s character-building.  So I got out the ol’ iPad Dos (that’s Spanish for 2), pulled up my Netflix app (that’s short for “application”), and decided to watch an episode of Scrubs (that’s a … nevermind).  

Epic fail.  After five minutes, my eyes wandered to the utensil container on my baker’s rack.  It suddenly struck me that I would fancy my wooden spoons any other color but “wood.”

So after pausing Scrubs long enough to confirm my suspicion that acrylic paint is indeed food-safe (it is), I set out to paint the handles.  I was actually fine with the spoon part being wood, but the handles were calling my paintbrush’s name (which is Rosario.)

(If you look closely, she has small flecks of glitter encased in her handle.)

And here’s the end result:

It’s not exactly tutorial worthy — there were no secret steps involved — I just… Taped off the stripes with painter’s tape, painted them, let them dry, removed the tape, thanked Rosario for her hard work, ya know.  Oh, and sealing the painted part with a food-safe varnish is a very smartypants idea, too.

And now aren’t they pretty?

I used clothespins to prop them up while they dried.

Rosario and I have a good time when we hang out.

Oh yeah, and that episode of Scrubs was pretty funny, too.

:)

Other things that have happened when I was supposed to be watching TV…

Ransom Note Art

The Magic of the Sweater Shaver

How to Fix Broken Makeup

It’s Earth Day! (almost)

Holy upcycling linkfest, Batman! It’s almost Earth Day!

It’s actually this Sunday, but since I don’t do the blog thing on weekends, today I thought I would do a little compilation of some of my more earth-friendly posts in lieu of the usual “Things that (P)inspire Me” post.  But brace your green, tree hugging self — it’s a list of 15 links featuring ways to upcycle everything from vinyl records to used egg cartons.  Not for the faint of heart crafting.

Hope these inspire you in the event that you’re feeling upcycle-crafty at any point between now and Sunday.  Or… ever.

Yay Earth!

Beer Cap Magnets (and other handmade goodies)

Vinyl Record Bowl

Wine Cork Crafts

{Source: two twenty one}

Vintage Yardstick and Ruler Furniture

{Source: Corner House Blog}

Antique Singer Sewing Machine Dining Room Table

 Wooden Pallet Furniture

{Source: My Friend Staci}

Paint Chip Projects

{Source: Joe Montano, Big Ass Book of Home Decor}

Tissue Paper Projects

{Source: Martha Stewart}

Fused Plastic Tutorial

{Source: About.com}

Beer Can Crafts

{Source: Atomic Shrimp}

Upcycled Plastic Bottles

{Source: Sarah Turner}

Ransom Note Art

Egg Carton Crafts 

{Source: Intimate Weddings}

Upcycled Suitcase Furniture

{Source: EcoFriend}

Now go hug a tree.

Happy (almost) Earth Day!

My Ever Growing Crafty To Do List

So, I spent the last week in Atlanta visiting family and friends, and per usual, “visiting” evolved into shopping with my lady family members.  And also per usual, “shopping” evolved into me getting camera phone happy, especially when we were in stores with really great merchandising, design, and decor — typically the boutiques.  Yes, I did some actual shopping – you know, where you exchange currency for goods? —  but mostly I was  window shopping, and like I said, snapping away some inspirational pics.

…Which means my already overflowing crafty to do list has grown a little longer.

On my first day in town, my mother took me to a few boutiques, as well as a really great “designer” consignment shop (where she proceeded to spoil me all in the name of “this is what the Easter Bunny will be giving you”).  Amidst the quasi shopping spree that results when you haven’t seen your only daughter in eight months, I got a few ideas.

My mom and I saw this chandelier in a boutique, and we both got our phones out in unison.  We thought it was pretty picture-worthy.

It’s made from three different circular-wire-metal things with vintage book pages clipped to each circle.  I think this idea would work especially well with old dictionary pages or sheet music.  And I’m guessing the paper is magically flame retardant or the light bulbs are really low wattage?  Not quite sure how to jump this hurdle.  Or the whole finding/making-circular-wire-metal things.  Or finding room for another light fixture in my already crowded shoebox apartment.  Ok… this project might be going to the bottom of the list.  But isn’t it cool?!

While at another boutique, I saw these fun necklaces made from jersey material:

I think I could easily duplicate these by cutting some long strips from old t-shirts (but I won’t tell that to the boutique owners who were charging $30 per necklace).

This same store had more jersey jewelry, including braided bracelets and headbands — but did I take any pictures?  Nope.  But here’s an example of what they looked like from an Etsy seller:

{Source: Urban Creatures}

On my Shopping-But-Mostly-Hoarding-Crafty-Ideas Trip Part 2, I went with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to The Avenue, an open-air mall (they feature national retailers, but they also have local places).

At one boutique, I snapped this pic of a glitter tree and a fab dresser:

But more importantly, there was a glitter tree.  I don’t know what I’ll use it for, but I’ll be damned if I don’t make a glitter tree in the year 2012.  I’m pretty sure it will change my life.

Then, my mama-in-law, knowing how I love DIY, gave me a copy of Birds & Blooms, the Backyard Projects publication.  She told me that while she knew I had no backyard, no blooms, and no birds (city savvy pigeons don’t count), she loved all of the upcycling projects and knew I would, too (she was right).

Here’s a great gift idea I found:

{Source: Birds & Blooms}

Again, I have no green thumb, much less a place to plant green things, but I know many a gardener who would love their own plant markers.  (Hark!  Do I hear a holiday coming up on Sunday, May 13th?)

I couldn’t find the rest of the ideas on the Birds & Blooms website, so I got out my trusty scanner and did it up 90′s style.  (I know scanners are still totally practical, but  for some reason they remind me of fax machines, which are undeniably reminiscent of the 90′s).

Here’s a cool idea for a planter:

Again, I’m not going to be planting anything any time soon, but I’m a big fan of mailboxes-used-as-other-things in general:

Josh and I used this in our wedding on the gift table so guests had a place to put cards.  At the time, the handle was completely orange, but over time, the paint has chipped away.  Now it just holds toilet paper and hangs out in our bathroom.

More importantly, you were just privy to a picture of my toilet.  Now I feel so much closer to you…

And continuing my love for DIY lamps, here’s a great bamboo light shade:

I love it the way it is, but I think I’d like it even more if it was a bit shorter.

And, saving my favorite idea for last, here is a bicycle wheel organizer:

It looks like they’ve put some vintage seed packets in the spokes, but I would to-do-list the crap out of this thing.  I love the idea of using orange, green, and turquoise paper to write down reminders and ideas, then attaching them with clothespins.  And best of all, I could spin it!  It’d be like a lazy Susan to do list… I mean, how could that be bad?

And… it just so happens, I recently found a discarded bicycle wheel on the street in Brooklyn.  I had no idea what I wanted to do with it, but I knew crafty inspiration would strike.

Here’s my newly cleaned bicycle wheel, ready for my next project:

Oh boy!  Oh boy!

Happy Monday :)

Things that (P)inspire Me: GREEN

With St. Patrick’s Day this Saturday, I thought a verdant Pinterest round-up was appropriate.

And I also happen to really love green!

Photo by jk Dallas Photography

To check out the whole Pinterest board, go here: GREEN

To redirect to the original source, click on the image.  And… if you were featured this week, grab a button at the bottom!

I have long harbored a love for green sofas. {Source: Design Sponge}

Chartreuse Tablescape. Loooove. {Source: Weddings by Color}

Green and White Chevron Pillow {Source: The Linen House Etsy Shop}

Not only is this a green kitchen -- it has a green gingham ceiling. For real. {Source: House Beautiful}

Seafoam green kitchen {Source: Better Homes and Gardens}

Green floor! {Source: Who Orange}

Green and white kitchen {Source: The Glitter Guide}

Green chairs {Source: Visual Feast pinboard}

Green chevron dresser {Source: Triple Maxtons}

Green cabinets {Source: My Gingerbread House}

Green tile wall and backsplash {Source: Faucet Station}

Green wall {Source: Domino on Design Crisis}

Lovely Dark Green wall (the apothecary jars aren't too bad either) {Source: Dear Golden}

Green beadboard... and lots of equestrian accessories {Source: Ralph Lauren Home}

Green Subway tile {Source: Red Online}

Green backsplash {Source: Domino Mag}

GREEN bedroom wall. Capital letters necessary. {Source: Josslyn T's Photostream via Flickr}

Green wall {Source: Style Files}

Charteuse Living Room {Source: jinkazamah's flickr}

Bathroom with green accessories {Source: Easy Living Magazine}

So much green {Source: Flea Market Finds with Matthew Mead}

Green door {Source: Unknown}

Grab a button if you were featured in this week’s round-up!

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Link URL:  http://thegingerpennypincher.wordpress.com

How to Cut Glass with String, Nail Polish Remover, and Fire (FIRE!)

I can’t tell you where I first saw this idea — no really, it’s all a blogosphere blur — but the technique is basically the same everywhere.  After all, it’s based on science, and for the most part, science is pretty much non-negotiable.

This has also been at the top of my to do list for 3 months… Did I mention that?  But as with most things at the top of my to do list, somehow it got put to the backburner… and then the holidays happened… and then I ran out of excuses.  So here we are today!

And now for your DIY/science nerd/crafty times pleasure…

Cutting Glass with a Piece of String, Nail Polish…

AND FIRE!

You will need:

• a clean and empty bottle
• string (I used yarn)
• fire: a lighter, matches, whatever
• acetone (or nail polish remover with acetone in it)
• a bowl or sink full of cold water

(Here’s where I’m supposed to tell you to do this in a well-ventilated area with protective glasses and gloves.  Be smart, folks.  DIY/science nerd/crafty times projects are not a good reason to go to the hospital.)

First, take a bottle — any type of bottle will do, but I used a beer bottle in my case (a Brooklyn Lager bottle to be exact — holla!).  The bottle must be empty, so you need to make sure the contents have been disposed of, e.g., consumed.  You may have to take one for the team.  (Take one for the team responsibly.)

After the bottle is empty, cleaned, and dry, wrap a piece of string where you will like to make the cut (ideally, you want to do this so the curvature of the neck of the bottle is no longer part of the final product).  You can use any kind of string (as far as I know), but I used yarn in my example, AND I doubled the piece of string so it was a little thicker.

After you’ve wrapped the piece of string and tied it off, slide it off the bottle and soak it in acetone or nail polish remover that contains acetone.  After the string is saturated, slide it back onto the bottle.

The string marks the line where the glass will be cut, so unless you want an angular or jagged cut, make sure the string is level all the way around.

Then it’s fire time!  (Don’t worry, I’m not a pyro, it’s just that it’s rare that I get a chance to say a phrase like “It’s fire time!”– I felt I had to seize the opportunity.)

Remember that little ol’ safety warning I gave at the beginning of this thing? OK.  I’ve done my job.

Holding the bottle sideways with the bottom closest to you, use a lighter to light the string (and therefore the acetone).  I recommend lighting it in one place, and rotating the bottle by holding it from the bottom so it burns evenly all the way around. Once the flame has almost died down, quickly submerge it in cold water (I recommend a sink or bowl of water — as long as it can be fully submerged).  You will hear a loud crack as the two halves separate underwater.

After the two parts separate, you can recycle the top part (or reuse it as a funnel?) and keep the bottom half.  Ta da!   This is not one of those perfect, works-every-time kind of things; it may take you a few tries (it took me about three).

The most important things for this to be successful are the string being fully saturated and submerging the bottle right before the flame dies down.  If you wait until it has burned off all of the acetone, it will no longer be hot enough to break the glass (the hot part of the bottle + the cold water = the bottle separated in two halves).

The glass will probably still be a bit jagged, so these should definitely not be used as drinking glasses — unless you have a fancy dremel tool with a glass cutting bit (which I don’t have).

If you’re just going to use these as vases or votive holders (or candle holders, if you do the homemade-melt-your-own-candle-wax thing), then you can just try sandpaper or wet-and-dry emery paper (the latter of which I’ve never used before, but I hear tales of great success).

That’s it!  Gee, science is fun.

Anyone else out there a science nerd like me?  Anyone else out there tried this technique?  Feel free to leave comments below, or click on the title (permalink) above to redirect to a comment-friendly page.  Thanks!

Wedding Wednesdays: Save-the-Dates and Invitations

Wedding invitations are a necessity when you’re wanting to invite people to your wedding (duh). Save-the-dates, though growing in popularity, are not necessarily a necessity (ooh, so alliterative!). However, if you anticipate a lot of out-of-town guests, or if you just want to formally announce your engagement (and the fact that you’ve set a date) then they are a great, fun way to do this.

So if you decide to do both, or just opt for the invitations, one thing’s for sure: a wedding stationery is an easy way to spend A LOT of your wedding budget. And we don’t like that. Invitations can be as much as $1,000 if you opt for the envelope-within-the-envelope-sheet-of-velum-calligraphy-metallic-paper-hoop-de-doo; depending on the size of your guest list, this price can be even higher. Considering that you’re spending this much money on paper — paper that your guests will eventually throw away or recycle — this definitely seems like an area where saving money would be wise.

That’s what I’m here for! I had this realization with my own wedding, and researched nearly every option out there until I found the best deal. But like I said, I researched nearly every option out there. It took some serious time and energy. (I also did Save-the-Dates, too — so we’ll talk about those as well.) To save you some time, I’ve got a few tips, websites, and other resources to make this aspect of your wedding planning as painless as possible. (Because seriously, it’s a few pieces of paper!)

First things first: you can’t really start seriously shopping for wedding invitations until you’ve come up with a guest list. For some of you out there, that may be a very short list, especially if you’re having a smaller wedding. In our case, we invited about 250 people (and nearly all of them came) so we need lots of invitations.

Remember, the number of people on the guest list does not equal the number of invitations you need; you’ve undoubtedly invited some families who live in the same house together, so they would need just one invitation.

Once you’ve taken into account the number of households, add twenty to that number and you have the number of invitations you’ll actually need (I say twenty extra in case there are any mess-ups when addressing the envelopes –wedding invitations are not really the place for white-out).

From that point, you need to decide how much you’re willing to spend on invitations (count on $1-2 per invitation as the lowest price you will probably find out there). If this number is already a little higher than you’d care for, you can probably figure that the whole envelope-within-the-envelope-velum-paper-blah-blah-blah thing isn’t in the cards for you. (And who needs it?) Of course, if you find a place that has a sale or you have a hook-up with a stationer, then maybe you can swing it. (Or if you check out a Michael’s Arts and Crafts store or the Target wedding section, you can always find SUPER discounted stationery on clearance, so if any of that is to your liking, grab it because it will be gone the next day!)

When budgeting for stationery, you also want to take into account how much postage will cost — for the invitation and the included response card (you should definitely include pre-stamped response cards — don’t expect your guests to have to do postage themselves).

If you want to save some money with postage (and you do!), don’t forget the following:

• It costs more to ship a square envelope than it does a standard rectangular one
• As of this writing, it costs $0.45 to ship a 1 oz. or less rectangular envelope. When putting your invitations and response cards together, make sure you’re within this weight limit, otherwise you’ll be paying more.
• Sometimes people like to put a map or hotel info in the envelope, thereby adding to the weight of the envelope (and therefore upping the cost of postage). Unless you think it’s absolutely necessary (like, you’re having a hoedown on a farm and there are no street signs for miles), chances are your wedding guests can figure it out based on an address. However, if you think there may be some logistical difficulties like finding the location, but you don’t want to add to the weight of the envelope, try just doing a small slip of paper or include on your invitation the URL to your own website. (You can make free wedding websites with a variety of companies, including My Wedding, eWedding, and The Knot, and these websites are a great place to put wedding details like venue and hotel info and registries — and they’re free with easy to use templates.)
• When picking invitations, find packages that include small postcard response cards (no more than 4.25″ X 6″), this way you save on postage (as of this writing, postcard stamps are only $0.32 each).

Once you’ve determined an invite number and a budget range, it’s time to go stationery shopping! You want to keep in mind that while the save-the-date should be pretty casual, the wedding invitation sets the tone for what type of wedding it will be. Obviously, you wouldn’t send an invitation to a hoedown that was decorated in scrolls and calligraphy, and you also shouldn’t send a neon yellow, Comic Sans font bedecked invite if you’re having a steak-and-lobster sit down dinner, either. Give your guests an idea of what to expect, both in the wording of the invitation (“Tea reception to follow” or “Following the ceremony, enjoy barbecue and dancing in the barn”) and in the actual presentation of the invitation itself.

After much research and price comparisons, we eventually decided on seal and send invitations. We knew we wanted to keep postage costs and paper waste down, and this seemed like the easiest way to guarantee this. Here’s how they work: The invitations are one long piece of rectangular paper with a perforated bottom for the response cards. When sending them, you fold them in thirds (already creased for you), attach a seal to the outside (it resembles and envelope), and then add regular postage and a mailing address (you can get them to come pre-printed with your return address). So not only are you saving on postage, but there’s no need for the envelope-within-the-envelope-thing.

The company we used was called Seal-n-Send.com, however it looks as if they are now carried on the Ann’s Bridal Bargains website — this was three years ago, after all. (Here’s a link to the Seal-n-Send section of their website.) Three years ago, there were not nearly as many options as there are now, however it looks like their selection has grown a lot since then. Here are the invitations Josh and I ended up picking:

Click on this image to redirect to the webpage.

They were ideal for us because, aside from the price and the prospect of saving on postage with response postcards, they were pleasantly formal enough but still slightly unconventional (like our wedding). And did I mention they only cost $119.99 for 100 invitations? Yeah, we liked them just fine.

Here are some other great seal and send choices I found — all with personalization options including font and font color choices:

These are only $99.99 per 100 -- click on the image to go to the webpage.

Only $119.99 per 100

$119.99 per 100

Oooh… I especially like those damask invitations! And if you’re not sure which one you want based on the picture alone, you can order samples for free and see for yourself in person.

If you’re not into the whole seal and send thing, here are some more resources that have affordable invitations (and sometimes they’re on sale!):

• Target
• Michael’s
• JoAnn
• Wal-Mart
• Costco
• Sam’s Club
• And a slew of websites — Google it!

As for save-the-dates, we went the postcard route, and I found the best deal on Vistaprint.com (kinda like we did for our Christmas postcards this year). We did our own backyard photo shoot, then stuck in our three faves for “save,” “the,” and “date.” Here was our finished product:

Save the Date postcard (front)

Save the Date postcard (back)

Awww…..

At the time, there was a special for first time customers, so I got 100 postcards for free — which was all we needed! However, we did have to upload our own photos, so we paid a few more bucks (like $10, I think), but being able to personalize these was important to us, so we were willing to spend this teensy amount of money. After buying a roll of postcard stamps, we weren’t out more than $30 for all of our save-the-dates (but this was three years ago, so prices have gone up a little since then).

Of course, there are numerous ways of getting cheap postcards made (including making your own using cardstock, a paper cutter, and whatever else you might use to decorate them). However, we went with Vistaprint specifically because of the free postcard special, but make sure you do your own Google search to find the best deals (or put your name on some mailing lists so you’re the first to know about any sales or specials).

I always love a little (or a lot) of DIY, but in the case of wedding invitations, I found that I couldn’t get the price at or under $1 an invitation when making them myself (accounting for the cost of supplies and printing), so to me it wasn’t worth it. But if you don’t mind the labor (and potential additional costs), or maybe you have a friend who can get the supplies or printing for you wholesale, then have at it! These will definitely be personalized to your wedding and give your guests a good idea of what to expect.

How about you folks out there: Do you have any tips or tricks for saving money with wedding invitations or save-the-dates? Did you go the DIY route? Anyone else try the seal and sends? Let me know in the comments below!

And you can check out the rest of the wedding series here…

Wedding Series Preview

Setting the Date

Finding a Venue

Saving on a Caterer

Things that (P)inspire Me: Heart Shaped Loveliness

As I mentioned last Thursday, I’ve hopped on the Valentine’s bandwagon (which, by the way, is decorated with Cupid cartoons, chocolates, and doilies… But most of all doilies).  Last Thursday, I brought you a heart-shaped DIY printable for Valentine’s cards, wall art, et al.  In this week’s Pinterest round-up, I’ve brought you all kinds of heart shaped loveliness!  I know, I know, I’m a victim of trends… But this holiday comes but once a year, y’all!

So… bear with me and my inclinations to peer pressure and check out my finds!  As always, click on the pic to take you to the original source website (none of these are my own creation — all curated from Pinterest and Google image searches).

Enjoy!

My original inspiration for last Thursday's post.

Source:  Side by Side Black and White

Tennessee State String Art

Source:  The Ginger Penny Pincher

Heart-shaped book wreath

Source:  Be Book Bound

Zipper Heart

Source:  Bogate Designs

Crayon and Wax Paper Hearts

Source:  Martha Stewart

Cork Heart

Source:  ewe hooo!

Bottle Cap Heart

Source:  Keltainen talo rannalla

I square cake + 1 circular cake cut in half = heart shaped cake!

Source:  About.com

Heart shaped hand warmers

Source:  The In Between Girls

Wooden Heart

Source:  Design Sponge

Heart ring

 Source:  Melt’m Design Studio

Photo Heart

Source:  The Way We Are

Painted heart tote bag

Source:  V & Co.

Other things you might like…

DIY Valentine’s Printable

State String Art

Handmade Gifts

Grab a button if you were featured in this week’s round-up!

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Fused Plastic Tutorial

Recently I brought you a Pinterest love-fest of Fused Plastic Projects.  Here a few highlights:

(Click on images to link back to the original source website)

Source: Betz White

Source: About.com

Source: Emily Grace

Yeah, there are some crazy creative people out there.  With sewing skills.  (Which I lack.)

Anyways... inspired by the inventiveness of fused plastic and my own desire to do it myself, I did a little research.  Turns out, it’s super easy to make!  Best of all, it’s super cheap (darn close to free), it’s a quick process, and it’s upcycling a resource that’s often fated to a landfill: plastic bags.

I’m sure a lot of you go the reuseable-bag route  (I try to remember them, but I actually use the grocery bags as trash can liners, so I sometimes end up with a few extra ones, i.e., craft supplies!).  However, even if you opt out of the grocery bags, you probably still encounter other kinds of plastic bags from time to time (think of packaging for a loaf of bread, especially those retro-fabulous Wonder Bread bags).

For this particular project, I used black bodega bags.  These are especially fun because they have gold and silver metallic striping on one side, which I used to cut out a C and J (for Courtney and Josh… not K-Ci and Jo Jo… but good guess).

Then I took about 4 bags and cut off the handles and the bottom:

With the handles and bottom cut off, the bag can have a larger surface area to work with.  Open up bag, unfolding the sides, and lay flat.

See the difference in workable surface area?

After four bags are cut, opened, and layered, you should have a stack that is 8-ply (4 X 2 = 8).  I wouldn’t recommend anything thinner, otherwise you’ll end up with holes and the final material will not have as much structural integrity (yeah, that’s right: structural integrity).

And I tried a mere 6-ply, by the way:  lots of holes…

Yeah, that’s no fun.

Then I placed the layered bags (with the cut out C and J on top) in between two layers of parchment paper, then placed this parchment-plastic “sandwich” on an ironing board.

Sold in most grocery stores...

In a well-ventilated area, e.g., the fire escape, I ironed on high until plastic was fused.  Don’t let the brevity of that statement mislead you into thinking that this is a fast, fool-proof process.  It does take a little time, a little patience, and a lot of ironing.  You iron directly onto the parchment, making sure to never let the hot iron touch the actual plastic (or you’ll have gelatinous plastic goo… which is nearly impossible to clean up).

Iron all over the paper, never keeping the iron in one place for too long (this is how you get holes).  Occasionally peel back paper to see the plastic’s progress.  Remember, bubbly is bad:

Fused plastic with a lot of air bubbles will not be as durable, so if this is how your plastic is looking, replace the parchment and continue ironing.  The ideal texture should be something like raw silk or crepe.

After you’ve achieved the necessary texture, remove from parchment and allow to cool.  Then, you can cut it, sew it, glue it, love it, whatever your crafty heart desires!  As showcased in my Pinterest finds, this material can absolutely go through a sewing machine, and can be treated just like any kind of vinyl or thick crepe.

All “that’s what she said” jokes aside, see how thick and hard it is?  (I know, I know…)

And here are both of the finished products:

See?  This method doesn’t alter text or melt the ink, so bags with fun logos or messages can definitely be used for this project.

As you can see, I haven’t quite figured out what to do with this material yet (nor have I come up with a plan for the other 5 zillion plastic bags I’ve saved over the past few months, including ones with Target bullseyes, Wonder Bread logos, smiley faces, trees, kitschy phrases and… the list goes on).

Maybe I should take a sewing class…

…or two.

So, in summary:

How about you fine folks?  Have you recently tried your hand at an upcycling project?  Or a sewing project?  Or both?!  Share below in comment form, or e-mail me:  thegingerpennypincher@gmail.com.

Other upcycling ideas…

Wooden Pallets

Wine Corks

Tin Cans

Beer Cans

Vinyl Records

Yardsticks and Rulers

Paint Chips

Beer Can Appreciation Day

Today is Beer Can Appreciation Day!

No, really.  That’s a real thing.

Though beer has been brewed for literally thousands of years (some archaeologists speculate as early as 4,500 B.C), the whole beer-in-a-can thing is a relatively new concept.

This years marks the 76th anniversary of canning beer, so I thought I would pause and do a little Google image/Pinterest search and showcase some fun things to do with used beer cans — because canned beer is always a cheaper and slightly greener option, but it still produces a lot of waste (that hopefully you choose to recycle or upcycle).

And while I was at it, I extended my search to soda cans and pull tabs as well…

As always, click on the image for a link back to the original source website.

Box made from cans!

Source:  Atomic Shrimp

Can Lantern Lights

Source:  RubyvVermillion

Soda can lights

Source:  Diary of a Crafty Chica

Luminaries

Source:  The Star Online

Bracelets made from cans

Source:  Bubbley Boutique  (Etsy shop)

Can car

Source:  Sandy’s CanCars

Soda can ash tray or tealight holder

Source:  TrickLife.com

Pull tab chandelier

Source:  Purple Homes  (designed by Mauricio Affonso

Vase made from beer cans

Source:  Wonder How To

Beer can butterflies

Source:  Gearfuse

Beer can plane

Source:  Robot Nine

Pull tab clutch

Source:  Design Boom

Beer Can Chicken

Source:  E-Rcps

Ta da!  Hope you enjoyed these ideas.  And of course, if you have any of your own, feel free to share in comment form below.

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