Voldemort Wants Your Apples

Okay, so I don't even know if Voldemort ate apple before his belated demise, but this bag makes me want to have some fresh apples.

I won a great prize pack bag when I was skinny (middle/high school) when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was just about to release in theaters. I went to the midnight showing at our local theater, and held on dearly to all my HP OftP Memorabilia.

Today, hubby cleaned our room, and found my old t-shirt from this set. I haven't fit in it since about 11th grade. I think it is time to move on, and let this shirt be useful!

I was looking for a fun idea, pillow cases...no, we don't have enough pillows. T-shirt quilt? No, I don't have the room to store it until I find new t-shirts. I stumbled across this great tutorial for a t-shirt grocery bag. Double take. I mentioned in my last post that local legislature is banning plastic grocery bags, right? well then, check this out:

(Photo courtesy of //Between the Lines//)

So, I went at it like a woman possessed. Now hubby is digging out all his old "bachelor daze" t-shirts for me to canabalize for the cause. 

Here is it, empty, freshly sewn and sliced.

Here we have it full of yarn.

Here is all the yarn I stuffed into it for the last pic.

It stretches back almost to it's original state when it's done.

One of the best parts, you can toss it in the wash if your strawberries spill inside, or you get a bit over zealous and fill it too much and it touches the ground.

I think this one is almost TOO stretchy, so I will use maybe teens, juniors, or child (L) size from now on, unless it is the stiff t-shirt material hubby is always wearing.

Check out her tutorial, seriously, what better way to use those old t's you will never really wear again, and help the eco system while you're at it.

Update: Hubby found 6 old t's for me to use... mwa ha ha ha! You'll be seeing pics soon!

Recycling trash into treasures

Local City officials are working to ban plastic bags in supermarkets and grocery stores. For obvious reasons. Central Oregon is home to Lakes, Rivers, Ponds, and Natural Springs. We are sitting atop volcanoes and glaciers. We are in the heart of the wild world of nature, and the animals who vastly outnumber us, depend on us to keep plastic out of their food and water, and to keep our world contained.

In an effort to save our environment, a woman in Bend, Or, has started her own business, in just the last year, it has taken off. Her name is Sara, and she is the proud owner of Sara Bella Upcycle. She uses a studio in a very eco-conscious part of town to produce beautiful works of plastic art. Check out her site (linked above, just click on the business name) and see the videos that she has in turn linked to.

(Image courtesy of Sara Bella Upcycle, Trench Coat made ENTIRELY of recycled plastic snack packaging)

Finding inspiration from this, I decided to give it a go... not so terribly successful, but it was a fun experience. Also, my sewing machine doesn't like un-lubricated plastic. Just sayin'.

This is my attempt at a basic bag. Not so good with the dimensions, but it turned out okay. Those flowers, yeah, I cut those from the Plantin Schoolbook Cricut Cartridge and layered them in the plastic before I melt-fused it. It will hold a bottle of wine, or a skein of yarn and some needles.

You wanna try it? Check out this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf7alw4RN5c&feature=related