This blog is the answer to what I was trying to let my students work out for sometime last December. A lot of my colleagues like the idea of recycling the plastic wrapper from the junk foods that our students still eat even with the constant reminder that it’s not good for their health and apart from that it adds the problem of trash.

Make a Bag Out of  Potato or Candy Wrappers

Using a rotary cutter or paper out all wrapper pieces. You can also makes a template from hard plastic or cardboard. Trace and cut each piece individually.

You can choose various sizes to cut each piece:

2 5/8  x  6 1/8  inches

2 3/8  x  5  1/4  inches

2 1/4  x  5  inches

or  dollar  bill size  or  paper bill size

You cut  144 total pieces to make a large coin purse using   2 1/2 x 4  3/4 inches size making 36 links per row, 4 rows. For a cosmetic or make up pouch you cut 264 total pieces, making 44 links per row, 6 rows. And  for a bag your cut 260 total pieces making 52 links per row, 5 rows.

A Make Up Pouch

Materials:

- potato chips wrapper

- scissors

- hand sewing needles or make your own needle from old ATM cards

- clear thread or crochet thread

- and cord for strap

Steps in making a Make Up Pouch

1. Cut potato wrapper according to desired sizes. Wash it first so you don’t end up being attacked by ants.
2. Unfold your piece and fold on side to the center crease line.
3. Do the same to the other side of the piece.
4. Fold the whole piece together along the center crease. Your folded sides should be in the center of fold. Do the same with the rest of the pieces.
5. Sew together each piece, bring needle up and thru any chain and back down the other side and tie a knot. You tie your thread only in the beginning when you run out of thread, tie with a square knot and continue sewing. Sew up and down until you go all the way around. Make sure the thread is tight enough that you would not have any gaps or you can see the  thread.
6. Continue, add the next row by positioning positive to negative. Put two chains together with the positive and negative.
   
7. Once you go all the way around, you need to run your thread over the top of the  rows to sew to the other side of the purse.bag. You will be sewing the inside and the outside of your bag. Your purse will become very stiff as you pull the thread tight when sewing the chains together.
8. Sew the bottom part, squeeze it together just start running your needle thru the rows to hold them together . You go around a square a couple of times because the thread will not show. The bottom is harder to have a consistent sewing pattern because you are sewing positive to positive
   

Candy Wrapper Purse

Materials:

• gum, candy wrappers (stick gum, starburst)
• scissors
• monofilament fishing line or clear thread
• hand sewing needle (made from old ATM card not going to use anymore)
• cord for strap

Steps:

1. Lay flat the candy wrappers. Fold them in half along the length
2. Follow the same procedures in how to make a bag from steps1 to 8. The difference will be is on the desired sizes you would like your purse to be.

Here are two projects that I will show that my students made last December. Each of my students made one they were too excited to use their projects. It was the first time they made something useful from their trash.

Here I found some cute designs apart from the bags that my students made for their project in recycling.

Who doesn’t love flowers. Everyone is so fascinated by them, that it can lift somebody’s low moments. Yet, accept it. Flowers are quite expensive so why not think of an alternative that is equally beautiful alternative for flowers.

When I was younger I usually cry just to get attention from my mother to buy me a balloon, hey I have to  admit  I got fascinated by then up to now.

Now people are looking for another alternative extra income and why didn’t I think of the balloons that took my fascinations when I was younger?

I’ll think for that option as my new venture for passion in art while mixing it with business. What do you think?

Here are some books I found to be helpful for us to start using balloons as an alternative for fresh flowers.

Here are an excerpts from You tube showing you on balloon designing and sculpting.

balloon decoration ideas

Making individual art pieces using pressed flowers to decorate your home or to give to your treasured friends is very satisfying pastime. The charming craft of pressing flowers to use as pictures and on bookmarks and stationery can provide hours of pleasure.

The craft of pressing flowers requires patience and a creative eye. From decorated  papers to framed compositions of pressed blooms, this is a craft that preserves the beauty of nature’s most transient delight- the flower.

The crafts is based on simple concepts; fresh flowers are collected and are then pressed between sheets of paper so that their moisture is absorbed. The dried specimen can be last indefinitely and can be included in a variety of handicrafts.

The pressed flower no longer has three dimensions. It is flat and therefore two dimensional. The pressing process alters colors. A pressed bloom will never be exactly the same as it’s fresh counterpart and understanding of this framework of the craft is crucial. Before starting to work on a craft project, it is a good idea to spend several hours collecting and pressing various specimens and observing the result. Trial and error is an important part of the learning process.

Since pressing flowers is a craft which requires careful attention to detail. clear space in which to set your equipment. where you can work uninterrupted.

You will need good light. Daylight is best. If it is not possible to work near a window, a small desk lamp with direct downlight will help. Good ventilation is important. Any hint of dampness can lead to mildew which destroys pressed plant materials.

Materials needed:

Flower press
or you can use old phone directories or books or you can make your own simple flower press watch this video.

and other materials required for pressing floers

snips, scissors, tweezers, magnifying glass, clear craft glue, ruler, eraser, cutter or scalpel orange sticks or tooth picks, pencil and a fine marking pen.

Techniques Of The Craft

1. Arrange fresh specimens on a sheet of blotting paper on base layer.

2.Place a protective tissue layer between the specimens and the next layer of blotting paper.

3. Keep plants in specimen groups if possible. Continue layering paper and specimens in this way until the press is full.

4.Do not overload press

5. if bulky plant material prove difficult to press, trim away excess parts such as the lower end of the stalk using sharp scissors.

6. Fleshy flowers such as the hyacinth can be cut in half and then pressed. Use a scalpel to insure the bloom is cut cleanly.  Once pressed, the two halves can be used individually or placed together to form a complete flower

7. Flowers which prove difficult to press because of their size or shape can be carefully pulled apart, the various parts pressed separately, then the plant can be reconstructed.

Beginners project

Personalize your own stationery by decorating pressed flowers