Greeny Crafter 6 - My Recycled Bags

This week's Green Crafter is..... drum roll.....RecycleCindy of My Recycled Bags.com.  This talented lady lives in the mountains between Washington and Idaho. Think endless nature and listening to the birds sing every morning.... smile.   RecycleCindy loves to crochet and use recycled materials in her projects.  She crafts items out of almost any material that sometimes could be considered trash - plastic bags, VCR tape, old sweaters, cassette tapes, old plastic packaging such as toilet paper packaging, bread bags, and other plastic wrappings. She has also used old jeans, t-shirts, bed sheets and other recycled fabrics for her craft projects. In fact, I learnt a new word from her - it's PLARN - crocheting with plastic! 

Lets take a look at some of her crafts:

I think this is a cool idea! I love the contrasting fabric....

Recycled Denim Oven Mitt

Where did all my plastic bags go? :-)

Maybe here....?

Plastic Bags to Clothespin Bag

...... or here?  RecycledCindy saw a crocheted tote bag made from recycled plastic bags and just loved the look of it. So let's say she got hooked! She also crochets motifs, flowers, scrubbies, purses, and other useable items from the recycled bags.  Now she uses old t-shirts to make them too!

One of RecycledCindy's favourites:

Recycled Plastic Hobo Handbag

 I love the following craft - it's so thoughful!

Wheelchair Walker Tote Bag

Check out this one! RecycledCindy used recycled bags from ...wait for it....bread, hotdog buns, bagels, toilet paper, frozen foods, hashbrowns, paper towel packaging, hamburger buns, taco shells, hoagie buns, and other pieces of plastic from numerous products having plastic packaging.  With so many bags, this rug has so many beautiful colours!

Plastic Trash Rug

And if you have any old cassette tapes (which I do!), perhaps you could try out one of her cassette tape bag tutorials!! My favourite is the cassette tape evening clutch!

Cassette Tape Evening Clutch

So where does RecycledCindy get her inspiration? "I think of things that I need and make them"  That's definitely a useful tip. I wouldn't want to make something that I don't need and which would end up hidden in my wardrobe or store room! Thanks, Cindy, and we look forward to more of your crafts!

See you all next Monday for the next Greeny Crafters!

I can tie my shoelaces!!

I have been reading this great book about changing behaviour - why we do what we do, temptation (have you ever chosen a burger over a salad?), the mindless choices we make, or how we've been nudged into saving for retirement (mandatory in Singapore). Or, why a lot of us like to recycle (or refashion!), save energy or not litter the streets. 

Anyway, I turned to page 75 of Nudge where it talks about when we need to be nudged and the authors wrote "Nearly everyone over the age of six can tie shoelaces, play a respectable game of tic-tac-toe, and spell the word cat. But only a few of us can tie a decent bow tie, play a masterly game of chess, or spell (much less pronounce) the name of the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihayli."   It was then I realised, hey, my son is going on seven and he can't do shoelaces!!!  Plus he doesn't have a pair of decent shoes with laces (except for his football boots which have laces a mile long. Not for training small fingers!)

So, out came the scissors (don't grab the ones for sewing!)
an old tissue box and old laces.

Have You Signed Up?

Have you signed up yet? It's great getting to know "crafty" people from all over the world. Link up at the bottom and remember to pay a visit to the other crafters !

Jill from Jembellish has asked me to feature 4 lovely crafters from the Asian continent this March.  So if you like to refashion / upcycle, please drop me an email at greenissues@gmail.com !!!

Greeny Crafter 5 - Needle & Nest Design

Melissa of Needle & Nest Design in her
 shirt to dress refashion.

This week's Greeny Crafter is Melissa of Needle & Nest Design, and she hails from Canada. As I write this post, Melissa will most likely be giving birth to her second baby, so she's been particularly busy these days. Mel is a stay-at-home mummy who enjoys crafting, baking and chasing the cats (hmmm....I think that would be with her first-born!).

Melissa said she "jumped" into refashioning and upcycling with her hubby buying her a sewing machine a couple of years back - "since then I would experiment and flounder my way through a few projects.  Blogging about my d.i.y's has kept me passionate to keep trying/experimenting with new goals in home decor/clothing."