Another Bag

I was bored again, so I made a second shopping bag out of a couple of old bird seed bags. This one is a slightly different style and size.

Someone actually volunteered to buy these bags, so I'm sending them off in the mail tomorrow! I hope they aren't disappointed--these bags are functional and attractive enough, but are put together in some haste and the handiwork is not flawless.

Shopping Bag

I was kinda bored today, so I decided it was time to make something out of almost nothing. I started with a bag which was once filled with sunflower seeds, and turned it into a shopping bag. I wish I knew what that "fabric" is called. It is woven plastic of some kind, used for packaging large bags of grains and seeds and dog food. It is rather stiff and noisy to work with, but is very strong and sturdy.

I had a pattern for shopping bags in my stash, so this is a modification of one of those patterns. The handles are made from the top portion I cut off so the bag wouldn't be so tall.

I wish I could sell a few of these to support my birdfeeding addiction!

Pink Macaroni and Cheese

I may have taken recycling to new hights with this gourmet dish--macaroni and cheese made from a leftover almond-encrusted holiday cheese ball! I just wish they had left out the red food coloring--yikes!

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, Part 4

I love to get rid of things by finding a new use for them. My niece, April, is spending a year in Atlanta with an organization which works with the homeless called Mission Year. Recently, when April heard of all my cleaning and throwing out, she asked if we had any old backpacks to get rid of. I collected a few (mostly bags Gary was given at academic conferences, so they have weird logos) and needed a way to package them up to send to her. What better container than an old cat food bag turned wrong side out??

I wiped off the cat food residue, and stuffed the old backpacks inside.
I sewed it shut.

And now I await April's mailing instructions.

More Somethings

...out of nothing.



It really doesn't take much talent to make a burp rag, but it is a good way to recycle those receiving blankets baby got at the hospital.

I've enjoyed doing a bit of sewing this past year after buying myself a new sewing machine at Walmart--cheap, but works great! I've made a couple things to wear, but mostly I use it for mending and making household things.

Recyling Knowledge

It wasn't easy for him (read that: I forced him), but this morning Gary dumped 6-7 boxes of old journals into the paper recycling dumpster. This represents about half of what I wanted him to toss, but we've compromised at this amount and I'm glad for at least that. And since I'm so gracious in defeat, I won't mention that these journals go back 25 years in a field that updates itself very rapidly, nor will I mention the silverfish, and I certainly won't mention that the owner's eyesight is such that reading anything on paper is a chore. But I will mention that the Center will be very happy for his donation since they were just a ton short of having enough recycling paper to meet the double-pay bonus!

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, Part 3

This time I made an under-bed storage box instead of buying one.



I had to get rid of this box anyway, so half of it got recycled and half got reused for a new purpose. I cut it down from 8 inches to 5 so it would fit under our bed frame. Now I have a place to put my sweatpants and winter pajamas while it is 100 degrees outside.

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, Part 2

(This isn't really part 2, because I've posted more than twice on this topic. Someday I'll have to go back and find all the blogs about them and make links to them.) In the mean time, here's my latest: a new lid for my big plastic all purpose bowl (whose lid got melted on the stove many years ago). I reused some of the plastic that a mattress was wrapped in.

Here's a link to the real version of this item, which is too small for this large bowl. And while researching that I found a site that said you could get 100 disposable shower caps for $2 which work wonderfully for this use. I may have to try to find a box of those at a beauty supply store.

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose

Don't throw those wilted roses away. Instead, pluck off the petals so kitty can enjoy her bowl of water like a princess.

Yes, sometimes I do get carried away with the idea that I need to use everything at least twice before I throw it away. But wouldn't you say I did a pretty good job of reusing stuff when I made myself a matching purse and Gary a tie with the fabric I cut off to shorten my dress for David's wedding??