In this article, you will find two brilliant ideas that when combined, create the perfect construction!
- An easy Christmas ornament
- A clever way to reuse a plastic bag and avoid environmental pollution
The backstory :
I came up with this idea a long time ago. In my attempt to get rid of every single-use plastic item and all the plastic bags that have already been in the house longer than I have. But the thing was that I didn’t want to use them or throw them away, so this idea came to me: I could squeeze them into every creation possible, like using them as filling in decorative pillows, until hocus pocus… They’re gone!
These decorative ornaments can be anything you want them to be. You can try turning them into a Christmas ornament, a keychain, a toy for babies, a toy for cats or a wall decoration, etc.
In this article, I share the how-to’s so you can develop this idea to any direction you want!
You may have seen that, a while ago I showed how we can use plastic bags to fill small keychain pads in a workshop!
Felt ornaments filled with plastic bags
You will need :
- Baize/felt in different colors
- Thread. For each ornament we will need a 120 cm long thread. You can experiment with the colors and textures of the threads. You can also use knitting wool.
- A needle
- A pair of scissors
- A glass with an 8 cm diameter
- A marker
- Pins
- A plastic bag. Each ornament fits 1/3 of a typical plastic bag.
- Ribbon. I used one with metal threads because I liked the contrast of the materials. For each ornament, you will need a 15 cm long ribbon.
And for my final trick I will make a plastic bag disappear! Instructions :
- Fold the piece of felt in half and place the glass on the surface
- Form a circle using the marker
- Carefully and patiently cut the two circles
- Take the ribbon, fold it in half and place it on top of one of the circular felts
- Place the other piece of felt on top and secure with a pin
- Thread the needle and make a knot at the end. The first stitch you will make must be inside the two pieces so that the knot is hidden.
- After the stitch, continue normally, outside the circles, trying to maintain equal distances and the same length in each stitch.
- You can fix the two pieces of felt by putting needles at the ends of the circles and sewing with them. Continue until 2/3 of the cycle is covered.
- Cut any piece of plastic that you don’t need. *
- Carefully place it in the pouch that you have created.
- Continue the stitches until the shape is completely closed.
- Make one last stitch to secure the thread. Then, hide the knot between the two pieces of felt, with the help of a needle or a pencil.
Wallah! The ornament is ready!
That’s how you can play with colors, ribbons and threads and create the most beautiful and ethical ornaments for your crib.
*Plastic bag filling: For a long time, I had a box in the Shiny Room (office / studio / nest) in which I put any kind of plastic bag that came my way. For example, I had old plastic bags that I didn’t want to throw out and for them to end up in the environment, and various bags from online shopping. That’s what I used in the instructions above.
…And what about the leftover pieces of felt?
I personally use them to store and secure my leftover threads. Where there’s a will there’s a way!
Following the same technique, using plastic bags as filling, you can create everything I mentioned above and more. What would you like to try?
I look forward to seeing what you came up with!
See you soon,
