Crafting with recyclables

Old plastic bags, video and audio cassettes can all be recycled into new useful items.

Audio cassettes and video tapes have seen their day. The tapes are stretched and today there are CDs and DVDs to take their place. While we do have some cassette and video tapes that are still usable most of ours are boxed up and stored in the garage. They were destined for the dump but then we discovered they could be recycled into other useful items.

We recently came across a blog site that was created by a lady who loves to do crafts. She has created many patterns to crochet with the tape from old cassettes and videos. Other crafts she has created are from recycled fabric as well as from plastic grocery bags.

The crochet patterns include many styles of purses, tote bags, gift bags, lunch sack bag, as well as doll clothes, Easter basket, water bottle holder, baby bib, coasters, covered hangers, clothes pin bag, rugs and pot scrubbers. Most of the patterns use “plarn,” a yarn made from plastic grocery bags. After cutting the handles off the bags they are cut in one inch strips and then looped together to make a long chain. The chain is then rolled into a ball just like yarn. It can then be used to crochet with.

One crochet pattern using “plarn” is for a handbag designed after a knockoff pattern of a hobo handbag that was sold by Nordstrom. Other purse patterns are simpler but nice looking as well as useful.

Patterns using the cassette tape to crochet with include doll clothes and purses. Recycled fabric from old denim jeans are used to crochet and sew purses, Christmas stockings and potholders. Another purse pattern uses recycled sheets and curtains. Bread bags are used to crochet a cosmetic bag as well as a handbag.

Some of the items made are embellished with ribbon. Others include cotton yarn, fury yarn and ribbon crocheted right along with the plastic bag “plarn.”

This website is at myrecycledbags.com. The lady who created this site in January 2007 is named Cindy. Most of the site is about patterns and ideas for recycling. All the patterns on the site are free. She also has instructions on making “plarn.” There is also a small section where she offers for sale some of the handbags she has made.

A new section of the site is dedicated to her “pink journey.” She was diagnosed with breast cancer in March of this year. She has described the different steps of her experience from the time of her diagnosis to the present. Those who have experienced cancer can relate to her experiences and send encouragement.

We like using recycled materials whenever we can. Other articles we have written about using recycled materials include: using denim jeans to make gift bags, using junk paper and scrap fabric to make recycled paper, quart size milk cartons to make decorative birdhouses, old lace arm chair and couch arm and head covers to make vests, denim from jeans for a dog bed, old socks to make a dog blanket and beads from old necklaces along with seed beads to make new necklaces. They are all on this blog site.

We are always interested in finding new ideas for recycling old unusable items into new useful ones. Readers who have more ideas on recycling are welcome to list them in the comments.

Marriage maintenance

Books share information on maintenance for marriage. Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs and The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman are two good ones. They are also available as audio books.

To prevent a breakdown regular maintenance is required. No maintenance could result in a blowout, meltdown, slow leak, collapse or a total structural failure. The same is true for marriage.

While dating most couples are generous with complements and kind words. They spend lots of time together. Gifts are given for no reason at all. Plenty of physical affection is shown. Acts of service are done without a request.

Then along comes marriage. Focus shifts to jobs, personal interests, children and the needs of others. All the faults of one’s spouse are suddenly very annoying. Negative traits seem greater than the positive.

It may have started like a slow leak but all of a sudden there was a blowout. The creaks and squeaks were ignored until things suddenly ground to a halt. Then the big “D” word was mentioned.

Even if a marriage has come to a total collapse there can still be hope. Many couples have rebuilt their marriages better and stronger than their first try. But it does require work. The more damage there is the more work it will take to fix.

The first thing that has to happen is for the most mature spouse to make the first move. They need to start acting loving or respectful to their spouse. Women need to be shown love. Men need to be shown respect. This is regardless of whether or not they deserve it. But it must be genuine.

How is love and respect shown some might ask? Think back to what you did for your spouse before you were married. Have you done anything like that lately?

What things did you appreciate about them then? Do they know what you appreciate about them? How was physical affection shown then compared to now?

Now is the time to make improvements. A 90 day trial period can be set. Then at the end of the 90 days look back and see the improvement.

If your spouse likes words of encouragement point out their strengths. Send a card, email or make a phone call in the middle of the day. Let them know what it is you appreciate about them.

When time spent together is what matters most to your spouse go for a walk together. Working in the garden or even doing the grocery shopping together will be appreciated.

If gifts are what your spouse likes look for little things with big meaning. A bookmark or paper weight with an endearing statement would be cherished. Flowers picked from the yard and arranged in a colorful container could brighten their day.

A quick hug and kiss goodbye before you leave for work means a lot to those who like physical touch. Foot massages or shoulder rubs, even quick ones, says they matter to you.

Doing the dishes or taking out the trash without being asked speak volumes to those who like acts of service. Mowing the lawn, sweeping off the sidewalk or washing the car are other ways of showing you care.

When was the last time you went on a date with your spouse? We made suggestion in our March 28 blog for date activities. Ideas to put romance back into marriage are listed in our July 13, 2007 blog.

Marriage maintenance is a lifetime activity. There is never a time to slack off. The more maintenance done the stronger the marriage will be.

The thing to remember is the most mature spouse will do the maintenance work whether their spouse does any or not. Most of the time a spouse will start working on what they should do too. But even if they do not there is no excuse to stop doing your part.

The Don't Song

Go to this site for a good song related to marriage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-lv8745InI

Bubble wands

Bubble wands displayed in a bucket of marbles with candles on each side make a nice table decoration.

The Fourth of July is just around the corner. Celebrations and vacations are being planned. We urge everyone to take the time to remember those who have fought for our country and those still fighting for our country. A big thank you to all veterans and current United States military members for preserving the freedom we enjoy today.

To help with the celebration we suggest making table decorations with a Fourth of July theme. Ours will include a bucket full of star shaped bubble wands. While our children are all grown we still keep fun things around for children to play with that may visit us.

Bubble wands are easy to make. We started with a star shaped cookie cutter and a 40-inch piece of 20-gauge wire. Starting at the center of the wire we bent it to the shape of a star cookie cutter. Then the remaining wire is twisted together by putting the ends into a drill chuck and slowly wound together.

To make the table display we placed the bubble wands in a bucket of marbles.

For blowing bubbles the solution can be made or purchased. To make the solution use about a fourth cup of dish soap to a cup of water. For longer lasting bubbles about a teaspoon of glycerin can be added. It is always fun to have a contest to see whose bubbles last the longest.

Now for a minute let’s go back to the cookie cutters. Today they are used for many things besides making cookies. We just used them for bending our bubble wands into star shapes. Then they can be used as a pattern to trace around. Also dipping the cutters in paint and stamping them on plain wrapping paper will dress up a present.

Recently we got a book called “Yankee Magazine Vinegar, Duct Tape, Milk Jugs and More” by Earl Proulx. Besides all his tips he puts in interesting bits of history here and there. In the kitchen section he had a piece about the history of cookie cutters.

The first cookie cutters were carved from wood. They were more like molds than cutters. The cookies were baked right in them. They looked like dense, shallow cakes.

Early on the Dutch New Year cookie molds were most often shaped like eagles, stars or other patriotic symbols to celebrate the New Year.

Later wooden cookie molds came with copper or tin along the edges to sharpen the outline of the cookies. Soon after that they were made in metal only. Each one also had a top to it and a handle that made it look like an ink stamp.

In the 1860’s several companies started to mass produce cookie cutters. By the end of the 19th century they were made all shapes and sizes. From birds, people, animals and stars there were many to choose from.

Remember to have a fun, safe and happy Fourth of July. To have some more fun do some research on the history of how the Fourth of July has been celebrated in the past.

Creative gift wrapping

Gift bags made from the legs of denim jeans make the perfect wrap for glasses filled with red walnuts.

Need a gift bag or wrapping paper? How about using recycled fabric from used clothes? It is unique, saves money and is reusable.

Most parties we go to where gifts are given the recipient tears off the wrapping paper, wads it up and throws it in a pile. Purchased gift bags are usually kept, but not always. On the other hand something that has taken a little extra thought like a fabric bag is more likely to be saved and reused.

Recently we made gift bags from discarded denim jeans. After laying the pant legs flat we cut them off about 15 inches from the bottom. Turning them inside out we sewed across the cut making this the bottom of the bag. Then we folded the corners at each side, cut them off and sewed them up to make a flat bottom.

Denim is a good choice to wrap gifts in for men, teenagers and children as well. We tied our gift bags with a raffia bow. Other choices for bows could be scraps of cloth ribbon or strips cut from contrasting scrap fabric.

It took us less than five minutes to make each bag. Other trims can be added to dress them up such as rickrack, ribbons or fabric paint.

For those who avoid sewing even one short seam there are other options. The pant legs can be cut off at the length needed to fit the present, plus enough fabric at each end to gather together and tie with a ribbon. It would then take on the shape of a piece of wrapped candy.

Fabric from discarded skirts or dresses could be cut to size to wrap larger presents. Smaller presents like gift cards or jewelry could be placed in a pocket cut from an old pair of jeans or other pants.

For those who do not mind sewing a seam or two could make a drawstring bag big enough to fit the present to be wrapped. One example is in the blog we wrote June 15, 2007, headlined “Handmade gifts.” In that blog we show a drawstring bag made from taffeta and covered the lower half with a piece of lace fabric edged with ribbon.

For other gift bag ideas we found some suggestions on the Internet at The Dollar Stretcher in an article titled “Gift Bags for Less.” The web site is http://www.stretcher.com/stories/04/04aug23h.cfm.

They suggested gift bags can be made out of paper bags and then decorated. Not only do they cost much less than gift bags from the store, they show off one’s creativity as well.

One idea could be a farm-theme bag. Use spray adhesive around the bottom of the bag and coat with sand. Use paint pens to draw the farm with animals made from wood or cutouts.

An Italian dinner theme could be made by hot-gluing spaghetti onto a paper bag in a fan pattern. A blue, red, white or green bow and a red-checkered napkin complete the look.

There is no reason why gift bags have to cost more than the gift. Whether sewn out of fabric or made on paper, they are sure to enhance the delight of receiving a gift.

Making Dune game

Homemade Dune game.

Our family enjoys playing games together. Even when the children were young, we played a lot of age-appropriate games. These days it is harder to get everyone together at the same time than it used to be but we are always on the lookout for new and interesting games to play.

We recently saw a game for sale on EBay called “Dune,” an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel of that name. They were selling for over $50 each so we kept looking. Also the game is now out of print.

In doing some more research we found some to be making their own copies. So we decided to make our own. Of course, the first thing we had to do is collect all our resources.

That included the rules, the game board or map, the cards and counters and other items. Some things are easier to find than others. We researched the internet for printable files of the items we needed.

Most of the files we needed we found on a website called boardgamegeek.com. Some images we had to make ourselves or assemble from several that we found on other internet sites. The game map we bought from an online supplier called AHgeneral.com because we did not have the means to print the large map. It was $18 including shipping.

We printed the cards and player aids on cardstock. For the counters, we printed them on regular paper then glued them to light cardboard. Everything was cut out on a paper cuter. This was a very enjoyable project to do and one the whole family could be in on.

We now have a completely playable copy of Dune at a cost of only some paper, printer ink, and the time it takes to cut everything out. And the game map we bought online, of course.

Several of the game players in our family have read the Dune books and enjoy the series. For those that do not know much about Dune here is a very brief description of the story of it. The novel is science fiction and is set many years in the future. At that time people were living on many worlds and had established an empire-type government encompassing thousands of planets. But the planet called Dune was special. That was the only place spice could be found.

Dune was a very inhospitable place for people as it was covered in sand and had very little water. Plus, in the sand were lurking huge sandworms a quarter of a mile in length ready to eat any person or vehicle making vibrations along the surface of the ground.

The spice was very important to the empire. Ingesting spice brought extended life to the user and, more importantly, it allowed them to see the future. The ability to see into the future was vital in navigating through space. And, therefore it was vital to the existence of the empire. Whoever controlled Dune controlled the empire.

Many different sects and groups vied for the control of Dune. The story explored the complex and multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as forces of the empire confront each other for control of Dune and its spice.

Dune was written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. It was the winner of several awards including the Hugo Award for science fiction. Herbert wrote five sequels to Dune before his death in 1986. Starting in 1999, his son Brian Herbert and co-author Kevin J. Anderson have written several prequels to the story.

Papermaking history

Paper made from fabric is shown with the fabric they originated from.

Last week we tried out our papermaking kit and made a few sheets of paper using the basic directions that came with the kit. After that our curiosity was peaked as to the history of papermaking.

We decided the easiest way to do some research was on the internet. After going to a search engine we typed in papermaking history and a whole list of places offering information came up. Looking through several sites we found plenty of information.

We found out to start the process there has to be fiber. Over the centuries, paper has been made from a wide variety of materials including wood pulp, rice, water plants, cotton and even old clothes! But no matter what is used to make paper, fiber is needed. Today’s paper fiber comes mainly from two sources - pulpwood logs and recycled paper products. In fact, much of the paper used every day is a blend of new and recycled fiber.

This is much like the process we used last week; our paper came from junk paper. Recycling paper helps to get the most out of every tree used. It also helps keep paper from clogging up the landfills. Each time paper is recycled, the cellulose fibers get shorter to where eventually the paper won’t hold together. That is why most recycled paper used today contains some new paper fibers mixed in with the old.

Going back even further in history we found the first materials used for making paper was the papyrus plant which requires subtropical conditions to grow. Outside of the areas where the papyrus plants were grown papyrus paper was replaced by parchmet or vellum. Vellum is made of processed sheepskin or calfskin. Parchment is created by boiling and pounding the inner bark of trees, until the material becomes suitable for art and writing.

Paper made from wood products such as we have today has its beginnings in China. Prior to the development of paper made from wood products the Chinese used bamboo strips sewn together and rolled into a scroll. Also they sometimes used silk. Both of these ways did not work out well.

After looking at the history of papermaking we also decided to try some of the different suggestions for making other types of paper. This week we focused on using scrap fabric as the main material for making paper.

The fabric scraps needed to be no larger than one inch. Longer fibers can become tangled up around the blade in the blender. Our fabric choices included plain muslin, a blue print and a pink print. We used a rotary cutter and mat to cut up the fabric into about fourth inch strips. Then we cut the strips into short pieces no longer than one inch.

We made two paper pieces out of the muslin. The first we added short pieces of ribbon. To the second one we added short pieces of thread. We used multiple colors of both ribbon and thread.

For the paper made from the print fabrics we used mostly from the areas with just the background color and some from the areas with the print. This made the paper have one color for the background with only accents from the printed areas.

This is a fun project to consider for children during the summer break. They can do further research on the history of papermaking as well as try making their own paper.

Other summer activities for children can start the same way. They can pick a subject they are interested in, research it and then try making their own product. The ideas are endless. The goal is to have some fun and learn at the same time.