ways to reuse plastic

[AlleyKat]

Im an artist who likes to reuse things that normally end up in a landfill.. hopefully posting links is ok in these fourms
Anyways I found a neat way to reuse plastic bags.. its called plastic fusing or something.. basically you iron several bags together (between parchmant paper) and it becomes a material you can sew together to make bags,purses.. anything really
heres a link if your intrested..
http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/2007/05/long-overdue-fusing-plastic-bag.html

[Sethe]

VERY COOL!

I learned a new word too- "upcycling." I didn't know there was a word for what I've been doing lately.

[AlleyKat]

yea.. im totally addicted to "upcycling" i belong to a craft site http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/.. theres lots of how-to's on recycling, upcycling, revamping..etc...basically turning trash into treasure.. heres an example..http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/rag_rug_get_rid_of_all_those_scraps
it's so much fun.. and beats spending my life savings at arts/craft stores

[AlleyKat]

also, forgot to mention you can knit/crochet with plastic bags too!

here's how to make the "plarn" or "plastic bag yarn"
http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/plastic_bag_yarn_pby

[Sethe]

Thanks AlleyKat. I remember reading about making sandals from plastic bags a long time ago.

[AlleyKat]

awesome! theres a girl on that site who made a bikini top from pop tabs and used plastic to "sew" the tabs together. It actually looked pretty cool. I think she said all of her materials was from garbage she found on the beach! my hero!!

[AlleyKat]

Another crafty way to re-use plastic is to make shrinky dinks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinky_Dinks

any plastic that says recycle #6 will work. Just make sure when baking them in the oven to have a window open, im sure the fumes cant be good for you.

[Sethe]

Interesting.

I'd still like to try fusing plastic to make bags. I bet they'd sell well at a flea market/online, etc.