100% upcycled purse made from old plastic bags

Hello Folks !

Hello September !

#ciaojuly #ciaoaugust #timeflies #2020loading

Summer is almost no more here, the sun is shining, we eat salad and fruits throughout the day, we are enjoying the last days of this season, what else could we ask for ?

Wait... Why am I actually writing in english this time ?

Disclaimer

This year is literally flying away, doesn’t it? As I was planning to present you my latest DIY project which is also my contribution to #plasticfreejuly, I thought it would be funny to do my first blog post in the language of the hashtag which means in english for those who haven’t noticed yet hahaha. So no french today (sorry about that, french speaking guys) but instead a bunch of eco-friendly positive vibes coming ahead.

I found the inspiration for this article by crossing over my crafting skills and my love for sustainable living/fashion to make this unique purse made of ...plastic bags. Yes, you read well: it was made with plastic and... that’s it. No wood, no bling bling, no nothing, JUST PLASTIC, passion and love as well (as always, you know ? Whatever you do, put some love in it. It will look, taste better 😉). Before digging into the main subject, let us first talk about the initiative of plastic free july.

The #plasticfreejuly campaign: what is it?

If you have been checking the social media in July, you must have come across this hashtag: #plasticfreejuly. Plastic free july is a campaign whose main goals were not to use any plastic items in the daily life and to gain more consciousness among the consumers about plastic killing our environment during the month of July. Thinking about plastic pollution in general and its consequence for us humans, for oceans and for animals made me think twice before using any mugs/single use plastic items specially cutlery, bags or even mugs. I must admit that #plasticfreejuly campaign motivated me a lot to finish the DIY project I am about to present you (I started 2 years ago by the way, don’t judge me) and to write a blog post about it as well..

We produced tons and tons of plastic waste and the worse is that most of it is not even recyclable 😞 Therefore, this campaign has been launched to raise more awareness and around 230 millions of people in about 177 countries took the challenge to make this world a better place just by changing their habits. More of what it is about right here: https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/. (Notice that the challenge is available anytime). The plasticfreejuly Team provides many hints to help you reduce your plastic "consumption" on their website, you may want to check them out 😛

The basic items I try to have 24/7 with me to avoid unnecessary plastic waste

Sometimes I forget some of those items home (nobody's perfect, you know ?) but I try to always have them everywhere I go. And remember: little steps still make a difference. Never underestimate your little resolutions. Soooo, it was the advertising part 😃 Now let’s cut to the real deal, y’all !

Fashion x crafting x ecofriendly

It is good to re-use plastic bags. Fact.

But the real question is: what would you do with damaged or perforated plastic bags ? Maybe throw them away ? Wrong answer 😊 Let me tell you that you can make so much stuffs out of it … like a purse/beauty bag which is exactly what I did. All you need is:

• a zipper
• a crochet

You will also need time as well and patience but then the result will just be really satisfying, I promise !

Transform plastic bags into strings

First step: produce as much strings as possible to make sure you will have enough to knit this purse. Just cut strings out of the plastic bag and tie them together to have a plastic roll. Tadaa, you have your kind of wool and you are ready to go.

Weird texture but sustainable material

For those who can knit, it will be first kind of weird to use plastic instead of wool because the texture is really hard. This is also the reason why the strings need to be as thin as possible otherwise you will spend the rest of you life knitting 😂
Second step: knit, knit, knit ! Don't let the texture discourage you, knit it like you mean it 😎 After the first 5 minutes, you will surely get used to it !

Chopsticks are packed, the day can start

Next level outfit !

White dress , red nail polish, black high heels and we are ready to go ! You can wear this unique purse to level up any outfit. But you can keep it home as a beauty bag too if you don't feel like share your crafty purse with the world 😀Jut put all your beauty supplies, jewelry in it and zip it! There you go !

Best of all: tiny budget, this costed me zero money and I was even able to relax myself doing some upcycling #relax #dosomethignyoulove. Is there anyway I can be happier? I think no !

Well, thank you guys for having followed the story behind this DIY project again until the end. I really enjoyed writing in english, I must admit. Let me know if I should do more of those blogspots in the comments.

For now, let us just enjoy the rest of the summer and don’t forget: the more you avoid single use plastic in your daily live by making little changes, the better it is for all of us and mainly for mama Nature. Wanna join the wave 😊 ?

Craftly-yours,

Kate