I think I have bags on the brain since my last workshop. I keep acquiring them. Whether or not I will actually use them for their intended purchase is another story! You just can’t have too many bags. Well, unless they are plastic bags…but I am getting SO much better at remembering to bring my own bags to the grocery store. Now, if I could only remember to bring my grocery list…
Anyway, I thought I would share a few of my recent bag acquisitions with you as well as some linky-dinks to some handy bag tutorials I’ve come across.
First up, a bag made of CORK! Isn’t it amazing? I bought it from Cork and Cotton on Etsy a while back. It looks and feels like leather, only more interesting. Cork, as a material is pretty cool. It can be harvested from the cork oak tree by stripping the bark. Apparently the tree is unharmed and the tree grows back it’s bark, so it’s a pretty sustainable material. You can learn more about cork or buy some to sew with, if you’d like.
This bag was a gift for my birthday from my brother. Its made entirely of wrappers…looks like potato chip bags and candy wrappers mostly. I’ve seen these sold by companies like Uncommon Goods and Viva Terra. Often times these types of bags are made in other countries by women’s collectives with fair trade practices.
It’s very shiny! In the past I’ve poked around the internet to find a tutorial, but the most I’ve found is how to make a simple row of linked wrappers, like the gum wrapper chains we made as kids. But I just searched again and found what looks to be really helpful instructions here!
Here’s my newest purchase, made out of recycled rice bags. I actually bought this when I was in Sheboygan teaching people how to make bags out of recycled things. I know, I’m screwy. 🙂 But this is so cool! It’s got many pockets and it’s SUPER light weight and durable. You’ve probably seen totes before made of rice bags, but this was the first purse type bag I’d seen. I love it!
Here are two more cool shops on Etsy I’ve bought bags from: Janine King Designs (I got a great laptop bag) and Katrina Kaye (they make awesome recycled army bags with vintage prints!)
Have I gotten you in the bag mood yet? Let me leave you with some linky-dinks to a few bag tutorials I’ve come across:
Produce Bags
7 Different Grocery Bags
Fold up tote
T-Shirt Bag
Those wrapper bags are also a common crafty pursuit of prison inmates. Wel, here anyway. 🙂
I love the camo/woodgrain bag.
Craft Lab on DIY Network has an episode on Chip Wrapper Bags. They show the host actually making it and sewing it together if you have a hard time following printed instructions. I have it saved on my Tivo but they show it occasionally REALLY early in the morning. I have about 15 bags saved up so far. We don’t eat chips very often so it has taken me months to get that many. Of course, they are sitting on top of my double oven waiting patiently. My husband is not happy about my little WIP.
I love this bag tutorial that I found for a Japanese bag: http://lafujimama.blogspot.com/2008/09/furoshiki-handbag.html It’s not so much recycling, but it can use what you have on hand.
I’ve been trying to find a tutorial on making a wrapper bag forever. Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing those links!!!
Your bag is great!!!
Saludos
Hi Betz!
I’m Portuguese and I make cork bags as well. Most cork oak trees come from Portugal so it’s a pretty traditional material around here. Nevertheless, cork bags are very rare, so I jumped when I read this post!
I came up with the idea of combining cork with traditional Portuguese fabrics (called ‘chitas’… the word is very close to ‘chintz’). If you’re interested, check out some of my cork bags here:
http://saidosdaconcha.blogspot.com/2008/05/100-portugus.html
Thanks!
Wow! Simply awesome handbag… very creative nice work, Great blog, subscribed to your RSS feed. Thanks.
Cool… first handbag is excellent…
Both handbags are really wonderful especially the second one i like the colors…