Blog a la Cart

Month: February, 2010

Plastic Bag Bags

You’ve got reusable totes tucked in your purse, stashed in the trunk of your car, and lined up by your front door. Despite your best efforts, however, those ubiquitous plastic bags seem to make their way into your home, taking refuge under the sink. Time to unclog! Pull out those bad boys and create a fashionable solution- The Plastic Bag Bag! Also look for bags Louis Vuitton Replica that suits you.

Materials:
80-100 plastic bags
1 pair of scissors
1 large crochet hook, size S

Directions for Plastic Bag Yarn (refer to image):
1. Fold each bag in half lengthwise.
2. Fold lengthwise once more, to create a long, narrow strip.
3. Cut off the handles and the very bottom of the bag along the seam.
4. Cut the bag into pieces about 2 inches thick.
5. Unfold the pieces into strips of round plastic and connect them to each other, two at a time, by placing one ring over the other and pulling a loop through.
6. Pull gently so as not to break the plastic, and continue cutting and connecting the bags until you have generated a large ball of plastic-bag yarn.

Crochet Bag Pattern:

BAG


Round 1: Chain 3. Slip-stitch to join in a ring.

Round 2: 2 single crochet (sc) stitches in each stitch to end of round (6 sts).

Round 3: 2 sc in each st to end of round (12 sts).

Round 4: 2 sc in each st to end of round (24 sts).

Round 5: *1 sc in next st. 2 sc in next st; rep from * to end of round (36 sts).

Round 6: 1 sc in reach st to end of round.

Continue last round 15 more times or until bag is desired height, then begin handles.

HANDLES


Round 1: 1 sc in next 3 sts, chain 25 (or desired length of handle), skip 12 sts, 1 sc in next 6 sts, chain 25 (or desired length of handle), skip 12 sts, 1 sc in next 3 sts.

Round 2: 1 sc in next 3 sts. 1 sc in next 25 sts of handle, 1 sc in next 6 sts, 1 sc in next 25 sts of handle, 1 sc in next 3 sts.

Round 3: 1 sc in next 3 sts. 1 sc in next 25 sts of handle, 1 sc in next 6 sts, 1 sc in next 25 sts of handle, 1 sc in next 3 sts. Fasten off.

Instead of winding up in a landfill for thousands of years, these bags can create one durable, long-lasting tote for all your shopping needs. Who knew being a bag lady could be such a classy affair!

Photo: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart

Somebody's ready for Willytown.

We bleed purple. Period. End of sentence.

Bye bye California.

It’s all too appropriate that the Bug has learned how to wave hello and goodbye. We’ve got lots of hellos and goodbyes in our near future, and it’s a damn good party trick. Today at the doctor’s office, as we had our last appointment with our pediatrician, Addison waved to every person who would give her the time of day. It was adorable. And made me even more misty, if that were possible See below for a glimpse of the wave (and her new cozy snow hat, a necessity for where we’re headed. James and I made an important trip to the mall and bought up lots of sweatery, warm, winter clothes for a babe that has never needed such a thing. And since such ensembles CLEARLY do not sell so well out in these parts, the world was our oyster, our oyster of apparel for the fools headed east.)

 

 

ANYWAY!

This weekend we were down in San Diego, my favorite city on planet earth, for a final So’Cal weekend (and ya know, for me to start my job creating online surveys for kids, as it turns out there was a meeting of the minds outside of the icy tundra of Billsville and it just so happened to be in the Whale’s Vagina). I got my first taste of my new gig, and let me just say, I am filled with ooey gooey inspiration and those warm, fuzzy feelings you get from engaging with people that are incredibly thoughtful, articulate, and kind. I could not be more jazzed. And in addition to getting acclimated, James, Addison, Ursa and I got a lovely long weekend together (read lots of restless, sleepless nights sharing a hotel room while Ursa barked at every passing noise (how uncommon in a HOTEL!) and Addison rolled fitfully around teething in two new chompers while James sawed wood.) Let me remind you that there is no such thing as fun for the whole family. And, yes, we brought the dog. And yes we rolled into our hotel at 1am with the whole Cart clan while Timbaland and his entourage simultaneously checked it. Then we wore animal print bathrobes all weekend. I kid you not. Best. Hotel. E-V-E-R. I ate myself silly with burritos, an unrealistic attempt to savor this yummy (read: we live in Northern Mexico) Mexican food. And I soaked up as much of the Pacific and the California sun as I possibly could.

And I ugly-cried the whole drive home.

People kept mentioning that it was 5 degrees in Williamstown. It’s like they don’t want me to take this job or something.

Now back to packing. And by packing, I mean weeping into a pile of clothes and filling my belly full of glorious, cheap, fresh avocado. I am the epitome of productivity.

Upcycled Paper Notebooks

Drowning in a sea of computer paper waste? Piles of old cereal boxes crowding your recycling bin? Got some pesky paper bags stashed under the sink from that time you forgot to BYOB (that’s Bring Your Own Bag, although booze might certainly lead to such forgetfulness)? Well then, you have the fixings to make your own recycled paper notebook, and put all that paper to work. Again.

Materials:
1 brown paper bag
1 cereal box
25-30 pages of paper with printing on 1-side only
Some colorful scrap paper (old magazines, calendars, wrapping paper)
Glue
2 book rings
3-hole punch

Directions:
1. Fold all pieces of paper waste in half width-wise (text facing inward, obviously).
2. Hole punch all paper with just two holes at top and bottom (must adjust the 3-hole punch accordingly).
3. Cut cereal box into two rectangles sized 6″ wide x 9″ tall.
4. Using glue, cover cereal box rectangles in brown paper bag. Watch out for air bubbles- use a ruler (or comparable object) to smooth out the surfaces and allow to dry flat under the weight of some heavy books.
5. Once completely dry, apply a rectangle of colorful scrap paper on the side of each of the cereal box rectangles where you can see the folds of brown paper bag. Again, dry flat under heavy weight.
6. Once dry, hole punch both rectangles, fill with the stack of folded paper, and bind together with 2 metal book rings.

Best of all, once you’ve packed those pages with your brilliant musings, just dig back into your recycling bin, and refill, for free!

Photo: Courtesy of Ashley Weeks Cart