Recycled Packing Material

I am a bubble wrap girl. Even as a child I was more excited about popping the bubble wrap than playing with the item the bubble wrap was protecting. So recently when I was packing up one of my feather creations to ship and I reached for the bubble wrap and it wasn't there I didn't know what to do. It was late and I couldn't go to the store but the package needed to ship first thing in the morning.

I wandered around the house looking for packing items when I came upon my "bag o' bags." You know, that bag of plastic bags you get from stores? I usually try to bring reusable bags but find that I still have at least a dozen plastic bags on hand. I usually use them as trash or doggy poo bags or return them to the recycle bins at the stores but now I use them for packing.

Plastic store bags make great packing material around delicate objects! So the next time you need packing material grab for that bag o' bags. I usually wrap the item in tissue paper before I pack it with the plastic store bags since the store bags ink sometimes rubs off.

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Leather Earring Tutorial

Why should leather only be used for jackets, shoes and purses? Medium weight or upholstery leather is easy to craft since it doesn't fray or crinkle. These leather earrings are quick, versatile and easy to make. You can even recycle those old purses or jackets that have damage since you really only need small amounts of good leather. I used 4" square leather samples and had plenty left over to make more earrings. Supplies: Leather Leather punch (I bought mine at Michaels Craft store for around $10 but you can also get the from home stores like Home Depot or Lowes) Sharp scissors 2-Large Jump Rings 2-Earring wires Jewelry pliers Download the pattern below, print and cut out shapes. Cut 2-of each shape in the leather of your choice. I used 3 different types of leather, don't be afraid to mix it up. Pile one set of the three shapes on top of each other and carefully punch a whole on one of the ends. I punched the hole about a quarter of an inch away from the end using the sma...

Leather Earring Pattern Update

In October I posted a tutorial to make leather earrings . Well for Christmas I revisited this craft and made a few other designs for a few people at my work. This is one of my favorite tutorials because they are so easy to make and the earrings are light and easy to wear. I liked the new designs so much I thought I would share the pattern for them. To view the full set of instructions on how to make these leather earrings, click here . To make one of the two pairs shown, download and print the updated pattern below (the bottom row are the new designs):

Paper Towel Roll Flowers—Tutorial

Puppy puddle? Chips not strong enough to hold the salsa? Drippy pancake batter? I am constantly reaching for paper towels. Inevitably our recycling bin has it’s fair share of craft paper cylinders that make up the core of paper towels and toilet paper rolls. For years my idea of repurposing the tubes was to use them as an amplifier and howl in them, driving my dogs crazy and earning an eye roll from my husband. However, recently I was struck with an idea. The curve of the cardboard would lend itself well to making paper flowers, hence this tutorial was born. Sorry it is a little lengthy… Tools & Materials 1- paper towel roll core Scissors Button Paper glue Page of paper (can be recycled from an old book or magazine) Brown paper shopping bag 28 gauge wire (or wire that you can bend and manipulate that is heavy enough to hold up a paper flower) Wire cutters White craft paint (optional) Small paint brush (optional) Instructions Cut the paper towel roll lengthwise (fig. A). From the cu...

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