Fantastic stuff made from fused plastic carrier bags
I was going to write an article on different ways to reuse & recycle plastic carrier bags but then I started seeing such great pieces made from fusing the bags that I thought they deserved their own post — some really amazing stuff.
- I love, love, love Emily Grace and the Yellow Suitcase jewellery made from fused plastic bags and wire. Some of the pieces are delicate delights others bright & bold – but always beautiful.
- Sticking with jewellery, Raw Skies Studio make lovely flower brooches – pretty pansies and dramatic red roses.
- Moving into the more practical realm, there are some very nice strong fused plastic shopping bags & tote bags around – Radical Recycks makes some lovely ones. This Spongebob one is more of a handbag/purse but how fun!
- And to go in that bag, how about a fused plastic wallet? I really like the use of layered patterns on this wallet from Bece but equally the geometric shapes from kurbantrash (right) are very cool too.
- If you just need something for your cards, Ecoark make fused plastic credit card holders
- And following on from that, OfLandandSea combines fused plastic with strips of scrap fabric to make protective but cool passport protectors.
- But wait! Fused plastic fun isn’t just for grown-ups – how cute are these fused plastic bibs? And these mobiles would be pretty against a window in a nursery.
- Finally, I love the use of fused plastic and letters from different bags to protect and decorate this sketch book.
We all know to say “no” to carrier bags these days & use reusable ones instead – but in case you’ve got any of left over from before you saw the light… how to fuse together plastic bags. Rubbish Revamped in Manchester also run workshops on fusing plastic which are a great way to get started if you’re scared of melting plastic!
(Photo of a very pretty hairclip by EmilyGraceSuitcase; a bold & fun wallet by kurbantrash; and a cuter-than-cute bib by recyclemoe)
I love this roundup! Many kinds of plastic film packaging can be fused, not just carrier bags. Any code 4 (LDPE) film fuses well, and some 3 and 5 as well. So if you catch the fusing bug, there are probably more fusible films lurking in your pantry.
Thanks for the link to Rubbish Revamped workshops in your round-up. Just wanted to say that even if you don’t use plastic bags for your shopping, you can amass them from frozen food packaging and parcels (eg from all that internet shopping!).
Here’s a few tips for those of you experimenting with plastic fusion:
– you can ‘trap’ items within clear plastic, for instance slice up strands of foil or sweet wrappings, even yarn
– try combining plastic bags with bubble wrap. I rescued some pink bubble wrap from a dustbin and used it to create a stained glass effect
– fuse some netting from fruit bags and garlic into the plastic for interesting effects
– don’t forget to maintain very good ventilation in the room due to possible toxic elements in melted plastic
Have fun!
Danielle
rubbishrevamped@googlemail.com
Lookie!
http://www.filthwizardry.com/2010/03/iron-on-decals-from-plastic-shopping.html
What a clever idea!
I think this is such a great idea, especially the wallet I love that. It give us something to do out of these things rather than letting them sit in landfill sites for decades. I think you could get very creative using this idea and I don’t see a reason why people wouldn’t buy these sorts of things.
Taz
Oh dear, I can see a slight obsession with fusing plastic coming on…
I actually run out of plastic bags all the time, because I never take any new ones but I do carry allotment things in them, or bring scavenged rubbish home in them etc so I break and mess them up quite often. I do occasional email call-outs for people to bring in their unwanted plastic bags for me at work.
Also my landfill bin at home is quite small, but a large percent of the contents is plastic wrapping of various kinds. It’d be amazing to be able to reuse a lot of that waste and cut right down on what I send to landfill!
I forgot I had a project today and we had to make clothing out of recyclables. Any suggestions please help me
Noma
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