Lid Bottom Bags

Earlier this month I showed you how I recycle and reinvent plastic cups and plastic containers by turning them into awesome spiral notebooks. Since doing the blog post, I have received an overwhelming amount of emails. Thank you to everyone for the very nice comments and compliments.

Now the real question everyone wants to know - what did I do with the lids? Hmmmm, let's just say what was up is now down...... These lids are now the bottom to my newest Market Bag/Tote Line which I call 'Lid Bottom Totes'.

I came up with the idea to use the lids as the bottom while thinking of something very unique and different to create for a contest that Craftsters.org was hosting - 'Reusable Shopping Bag' Challenge . It had to be unlike something I've done in the past, something extraordinary.

So one day I just did a complete walk through of my house and garage and ended up in my kitchen with no ideas ... not even a thought. Then it hit me, LITERALLY, when I opened a cabinet door and plastic lids flew out from having too many of them in there.

While creating this, it also made me think about those bags that have been discarded over the years or still sitting in the back of closets. The bottoms are unsightly from constantly putting it on the ground making it too embarassing to take out in public.

Even yet, how many times lipstick has melted or something else spilled out staining the inside bottom.

But I wasn't going to limit myself to just the round lids, I discovered that my same technique would work just as well on oval lids too.

Thanks for letting me share this challenge with you.

I would like to know how you would have reinvented the lids??

Spiral Notebooks made from Fast Food Plastic Cups and Plastic Containers (e.g. CoolWhip, Parkay, etc.)

I have received several emails since introducing Plastique Recreations newest product line - plastic spiral notebooks - asking what made me think to create this.

We all know that there's a lot more to plastic than just plastic bags. Plastic comes in many shapes, sizes and textures. Everyone also knows that I am making it a personal challenge to do what I can to keep what I can out of the landfill.

I decided it was high time (again) to get creative beyond plastic bags and think outside the proverbial 'box' - and in my case, outside the 'cup' or 'container'.

Firstly, I had to decide what plastic item was I going to tackle... it just so happens I had just finished drinking a large diet coke from Burger King. I noticed a trend from some of our favorite fast food restaurants like Burger King, Taco Bell, McDonald's, etc. that large drinks are served in plastic cups. After I cut the bottom off the cup and layed it out flat, my first thought was to poke holes and crochet around it eventually turning it into a tote - very similar to what I did with the Coca Cola plastic cup

but then I thought, I do enough of those already. Then I looked around and knew an idea would hit me eventually and it did - a notebook.....

I love notebooks - I carry them in all my bags/totes and purses. They sit next to every telephone in my house and on every table sitting next to a chair in every room. I go through a lot of note paper because I'm always jotting down ideas; I typically have a running grocery list because I'm not going to remember on Friday what we needed or ran out of on Tuesday; my husband is always asking ME of all people to remind him that we have to do this or that later. You get the idea. And, I'm really rough on notebooks. The cardboard cover typically wears out, fades or just tears off before I even make it through half the notebook paper.

It was the perfect idea and more importantly, more conducive to my lifestyle!!! That's when I converted the plastic cup into a plastic cup spiral notebook ... it won't wear out, won't tear and what's even more awesome, you can bend it and curl it to fit in any pocket. When you unfold it, it goes back to it's original shape. I ask you, just how awesome is that???

But the creative juices were flowing even faster, I couldn't stop myself. I had to take it a step further - if I can do this with a plastic cup, I can do this with some of the plastic containers I wash out and reuse for left overs. Do you know how many margarine tubs and other plastic containers I have in my cabinets, my sewing room and my garage? I reuse them for everything. I turned this beautiful plastic tub into

This fantastic plastic spiral notebook

And, that's my story of how the plastic cup and plastic container spiral notebooks were born!!!

Now I know what you're thinking - now that I've used the plastic container, what good is the lid. Ye of such little faith in me.... stay tuned because I will show you how I 'reused' the lid.

Lid Bottom Tote Tutorial