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.

Recycle by Recreating to Reuse

How cool is it that one minute you're drinking an icy cold diet coke out of a plastic cup and some minutes later that same plastic cup is a fashionable tote? Check out the picture, it says it all!!!

One of my 2010 resolutions is to raise the bar expanding awareness of keeping plastic out of the landfill beyond just plastic bags. So when I had this little beauty in my hand, I just couldn't throw it into the recycle box.

This cup was going to become the true definition of - 'Recycle by Recreating to Reuse'. Which also happens to be my 2010 motto.

You ask just how eco-friendly is this tote? You already know what the front and back panels are (see Coca Cola cup in pic above), in addition to that I crocheted around the panels with clear plastic yarn; gave it a pop tab closure and to ensure a strong base, the bottom of the bag is supported by 3 floppy disks (I did remove the silver clasp and magnetic disk.)

I used bigger pop tabs as the anchor for each strap. This will give it the added support when it's being filled it up with whatever you want - e.g. groceries, books, a picnic lunch or packing it for a trip to the beach.

Let me know what you think ... please leave a comment!!!

Come back and visit soon because there's more creations like this that I'll be introducing this year!!!

FANTASTIC PLASTIC ....Environment Hero

Back in January I did a blog post 'Until Plastic Bags are Banned' drawing attention to the harm plastic bags are to the environment and even moreso, what they do to our animal friends. Until a permanent fix is in place, we have a responsibility to do whatever we can to keep as many plastic bags out of the landfill.

There are multiple Etsy shops that take this responsibility very seriously whom I refer to as 'Environment Heroes'.

Let me introduce to you ..... Environment Hero -

Q: What is the creative process you use to decide what to create for your Etsy store?
Plarn (plastic yarn) has become an increasingly popular material to work with. I started playing around with it about 4 or 5 years ago. Once I discovered the possibilities behind making wearable forms I was pretty much hooked. I am always looking to diversify, but for the time being the plarn accessories take up the majority of the shop. I have a few grocery totes as well.

Q: Are you selling your products on any other online venue other than Etsy?
Not at the moment, but perhaps sometime soon.

Q: Do you have any interest in selling your product in an actual store/market place?
Absolutely. For a potential customer to be able to handle and try on a product would definitely have its advantages.

Q: What are your favorite things to make with plastic bags?
I really enjoy the freeform accessories. Taking something like a plastic bag and making something sculptural and chic is a satisfying venture. It also just seems a little funny. Not to mention that moment others have when they see what you’re wearing isn’t yarn or hemp. Working with something that is intended to be worn provides an extra challenge. Aside from working with what can sometimes be an awkward material, I’m working with the body. I like knowing that each accessory is totally unique. Since I’m not working from a pattern each time I make something new it can become more complex with even more skillful construction. Good times.

Q: Take a wild guess on how many plastic bags you have used to-date for your creations?
I’m not sure I could guess. A lot. To give you a reference, many of the cuffs are anywhere from two to five bags. The necklaces are about double that. I have made larger items that took hundreds of bags. Also, I have a few large baskets of plarn skeins. This stash consists of hundred of bags. A decent amount for a one woman operation. Although, as we all know this is not even a dent in the massive amount of bags that still make their way to the landfill.

Q: What will you do when plastic bags are officially banned in the U.S.?
Well, when I run out… I run out. I suspect it will be a little while yet, particularly for those of us here in the Midwest. I have friends that save them for me. This keeps me fairly stocked up. There are always materials to be repurposed. Despite the current green movement, we are consumers. There will always be some waste. I’m a scavenger. I will adapt and find other materials to work with.

Q: For someone to get to know you, how would you describe yourself?
I’m an artist and college art instructor, both which I thoroughly enjoy. I prefer summer to winter, the city to the country, and dogs to cats. I have a tendency to speak my mind even when I shouldn’t. I love word and strategy games and can be a bit competitive. I watch a lot of movies and if I love them I will indeed watch them many times. I’m a scavenger and a collector and a domestic. I’ll make something out of anything that lands in my little paws.

Here are additional jewelry pieces for you to enjoy:

I hope you enjoyed meeting Fantastic Plastic as much as I have!!!!

Sunshine but Windy Day Plart (plastic art) Yarn

As I was looking around my plastic bag collection, the Dollar General bags jumped out at me. I had to figure out what to do with them - something different. As the wheels were churning in my head, I noticed my Louet wheel sitting there looking sad and lonely.


That's when I decided, it was time to introduce another plarn color combination. I thought the yellow with black (Dollar General) plastic yarn and white with black (Winn Dixie) plastic yarn would be a perfect match. It reminded me of a sunshine day.




I looked outside my window and saw how windy it was and decided that my new concoction needed to reflect that as well. That's when I decided to throw into the mix the Raffeta. After it was all spun, this was exactly what I envisioned it would look like.

My spinning of this was a little different than normal. I plied the plastic yarn with the raffeta using different alternating combinations. My combinations were:

• holding the yellow plastic yarn and raffeta while spinning the white around it;
• holding the white with raffeta while spinning the yellow around it;
• holding the yellow and white plastic yarn and spinning the raffeta around it

I wanted to make sure that all 3 colors stood out and not one dominated more than the other. I did discover that while spinning with raffeta was fun it was also challenging because it kept getting caught in the spokes on my wheel.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38762662

I haven't quite decided what type of bag/tote to make with this yet. But one thing I know for sure, what ever the finished product ends being, it will definitely be ooak.