I feel like all of the best upcycled products are bags. I’ve reviewed bags made out of old t-shirts, bags made out of contruction fencing and now here are bags made out of the hated plastic grocery bags. With all of these bags made out of waste, there is really no reason for anyone to ever purchase a non-upcycled purse or tote.

So, fused plastic bag bags. Some of the bags that I am going to show you today are made by fusing together all those unwanted plastic grocery bags. I think what makes these bags cute to me is that some of them are made with grocery bags from regional stores that we don’t have here, so they aren’t the usual ugly Safeway bags. It helps to have some bags in colors other than Safeway tan. Take a look at this green one ($45) from Scary Carrie Creates:

This lunch bag ($14) from Kim Quilts saves 9 plastic bags from a landfill. It is made by using a unique folding technique, then they are quilted over to ensure they are more durable.

She also has some larger bags ($22). The quilting really makes them cute:

A few more plastic bag finds:

Fused Wristlet ($12) from HoneyBearRecycles

Recycled Plastic Basket Organizer ($15) from Curious Doodles.

Wanna do this yourself? Personally, I wouldn’t do this myself because I worry about the fumes. I mean, how safe can it be to use an iron to fuse these plastic bags together? I would rather let others do it for me! But if you are interested in trying it out, there is an awesome tutorial on the Etsy Labs website, here. Check out a tutorial for quilted fused plastic bags over at Craftastica.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at I Like Seamonsters. She has too many bags.

A few posts ago, my fellow bastard Tina Seamonster wrote about upcycling with those old t-shirts that just aren’t wearable anymore. Now I have yet another crafty recycling option for you- make paper. At the Pyramid Atlantic papermill we can make paper out of everything from junk mail to your old New Kids shirt (if you can let it go). No need to cut down virgin forests for your crafts- there are plenty of fibers that can be recycled. Most plant fibers can be used to make interesting paper, and the opacity changes depending how long the material is beaten in the Hollander Beater. In short, longer fibers are cut down in the beater and then pulled into sheets of paper.

A few months ago we had a group of kids at Pyramid who cut up their old jeans to make a pretty bluish paper. Also, old cotton t-shirts can be cut up and recycled into new paper, the color either determined by the shirt dye or added later if the fiber is white. In a class I took, we cut up a variety of shirts, and the strong red of one shirt mixed with those others to create a pretty pink.

Like yarn, paper can be made of many sustainable fibers like bamboo and seaweed. Check out this sweet journal made from recycled seaweed. Kozo (also known as Mulberry) is often used in handpapermaking, creating a beautiful translucent paper. The fibers can be harvested without killing the plant, thus creating a renewable resource.

Bamboo is another reusable fiber that we often use at Pyramid Atlantic to make paper, but don’t worry, there is still plenty for the pandas!

For a quick, clear look at the Hollander Beater and Handmade paper, read Ray Rich’s page at http://www.sumi-art.com/my-hmp.html

Where do skateboards go when they die?

Novia Scotia!

That is where 2ReVert creates one of a kind jewelry pieces out of 100% post-consumer recycled skateboards. Post-consumer means old, used, broken skateboards. If you think the idea is brilliant, wait til you see the results. These pieces are not only a crazy great use of trash, they are beautiful and stylish. The photos speak for themselves.

To add to the “wow,” their pieces are also incredibly affordable, ranging from $18 to $30 in their online shop.

I’ll never look at a skateboard the same way again!

Tina Seamonster rarely sleeps. She blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com.

My closet is full of old t-shirts for bands that don’t exist anymore. Unrest, Braid, Jawbox. Heavens, we must own every shirt that Q and Not U ever printed. Most of these shirts are too big or too small or too old or the wrong color or just plain don’t say anything about us anymore. But whenever my husband and I are trying to get rid of clothing, someone always says, “No, I love that shirt!” or “Remember that show?” And we keep them. And we carry around our memories in dozens and dozens of pieces of sentimental clothing. We will never wear them again, but we can also never part with them. Hostages, we are.

zJayne has come up with a way to recycle these old t-shirts, by turning them into reusable grocery bags. In her shop she writes, “Paper or Plastic? How about neither. It takes as much petroleum to make 14 plastic bags as it does to drive a car one mile.” I love the idea of dumping plastic bags, but always forget to bring my own bags. And I don’t think that buying a non-plastic bag to replace my plastic bags at the store is really helping anything, just adding more lame bags to my house. But, this, repurposed old t-shirts into bags. This is cool. This is smart. This has character. I picked this one up from zJayne’s shop last week:

She doesn’t waste any piece of the shirt either, as she turns the sleeves into cute little wristlets.

I have been testing the bag out for sturdiness all week by actually using it as a diaper bag. This means it gets filled to the brim with pointy toys, sippy cups and fish crackers. It is awesome. And we use the little wristlet to safely carry our twins’ inhaler. (Seriously, how did this become my life?).

The bags are so well made. They have reinforced bottom corners and a stitch tucked at each handle. The raw edges which do not fray give them a neat urban look. zJayne suggests that you roll a bunch up and keep them in your car or your desk drawer. She even gives discounts if you want to buy a bunch. You can pick up one bag for $5, 2 for $9, 3 for $12 or a dozen for $48.75.

Since upcycling is meant to combat the way we consume and waste in our society today, this product is awesome because it not only repurposes the old shirts, but also solves our plastic bag problem. I would love to see these shirts for sale in every grocery store in America.

But first, I think it would be rad if zJayne would sell a PDF tutorial so that all us DIYers could give new life to our closets full of sentimental t-shirts.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com. She makes stuff because she is no good at sports or drinking.

When I started making things, I was really inspired by the dirty streets of Washington, D.C. Monday morning trash was always the best. Walking to work down 16th street, I always found the most interesting things. Dropped shoes, dozens of flyers from a closed cell phone store, broken bike parts, thank you cards never mailed. For a long time, I collected these things, these forgotten treasures, plotting their revival. Little did I know that I wasn’t the only one. The practice of using waste materials to produce useful products is called upcycling.

My own attempts at upcycling never really produced anything “useful.” Necklaces made from wine corks found behind the Mayflower Hotel? Um, gross and not at all useful. So I am always fascinated to find crafters who are creating useful products from waste materials. It really is a challenge. Trash is, well, trash, which means it can be dirty, smelly, damaged, etc. From time to time, I will spotlight upcycled products that actually work. I will actually purchase these products and test them out.

First off is the Ornj Tote Bag by David Shock Designs out of Detroit.

Ornj bags are created out of recycled construction fencing, pulled off city streets and abandoned fields. Brilliant. I don’t know how many times I have thought about how beautiful that orange construction fencing is. So orange and lovely.

The bag is well made and very very sturdy. The handles are reinforced so that they don’t hurt your hands. I picked up the bag, thinking I would turn it into a diaper bag, but this is not the best use for it. Diaper bags tend to get too full of toys and stuffed animals and sippy cups and this bag doesn’t like to be over-filled. It gets bulky, etc. It does make an awesome book bag or shopping bag for a quick trip to the market.

You can also pick up a felt liner for your bag:

So far, this is the best upcycled product that I own. It is functional, sturdy and best of all, stylish and fun.

Tina Seamonster blogs her life and craft at http://www.ilikeseamonsters.com. She thinks you are rad.