Tuesday 5 July 2016

How to brighten up a 'green' bag

As this month is Plastic Free July  I thought I would share this idea I came across a couple of years ago. I was in KMart in Mt.Isa and saw a lady with a Woolworths 'green' bag that had been embellished with yo yos and it looked very bright and cheery. I asked her where she bought it from and she said it was from the markets in Townsville. I had never seen these bags before that but have seen a few since then and they have all been decorated differently.








 They are quite easy to make. Just buy a hessian/jute bag from the supermarket or elsewhere. The Woolworths ones are really great to use as you just have to cover up the words on the tree and add the yo yos in between the leaves.




 Gather up your scraps of fabric and cut out some circles in the size you prefer. Then sew around the outside of the circle, pull it up into a yo yo and then sew on a button if you want to hot glue them on but I usually sew mine on and add the buttons while sewing them on.





Lay your flowers on the tree and move them around until you are happy with the placement. I usually pin mine then in readiness for sewing them on. 




 Then either heat up your glue gun and glue them on or start sewing each flower on and add a button to cover up the stitching in the centre. If using a glue gun make sure you put something inside the bag to stop the glue from sticking the bag together.


 


The bag above was one I saw at church which the owner had bought when funds were being raised to help Fresh Hope which is a local organisation which works with mums who suffer from drug or alcohol abuse and their children. Not all all the flowers on this one are yo yos.


Yo yos are really easy to make and there are lots of tutorials on YouTube and on blogs including this one on Positively Splendid.




 This bag was made by my friend Blinky from The Herb Barrow who does some beautiful work. 




It is a great way to use up scraps and I have made a couple of these for various swaps we have had on the Down to Earth Forums....


...including this one that I sent to my swap partner for our 'Something for Christmas' swap. It is just a nice way to spruce up an otherwise boring 'green' bag and I have seen some plain hessian/jute bags in the shops which are just a blank canvas waiting for someone's creativity to brighten them up. 












24 comments:

  1. This looks like a fun and easy project! Thanks for sharing the idea! :)

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    1. Jes, it would be much easier to glue the flowers on.

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  2. This is a fantastic idea Nanna Chel!

    The yoyo's look spectacular on the hessian. I have one of these bags and I have spare yoyo's, so I am going to pretty mine up too :)

    Thank you for sharing this,

    xTania

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    1. Tania, you will have to put a photo of your finished project on your blog.

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  3. Hi Nanna Chel, I haven't comment before, but have been reading your blog for a while. I just wanted to say what a fabulous idea. This would be a great project for our ASG group.
    Thank you for some great reading,
    Janine

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    1. Thanks Janine. It is nice to know who is reading my little blog.

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  4. I have always loved your 'take' on this theme....I've yet to do one.

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    1. I will expect to see a photo soon, Mr HM.

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  5. Oh Chel I LOVE this! How gorgeous! Guess what we'll be doing today. Love, Mimi xxx

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    1. Can't wait to see what you come up with, Mimi. I expect there will be lace on yours :-)

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  6. This looks like a lovely project! Our supermarkets don't sell Jute bags but I do know where to get some on the cheap.

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    1. Glad to hear that! Kimberly. I would love to see what you come up with.

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  7. I am sure I have yo-yo makers somewhere among my craft gear. I will have to look for them this weekend. It is a lovely craft idea.

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    1. If you don't find them the yo yos are really easy to make, Sherri.

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  8. Such a great idea. The bags look beautiful and unique.

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    1. Thanks Zena. I have even seen a bag with a Christmas tree on it made out of yo yos.

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  9. This is lovely! I have a few fabric bags that I've gotten free at events. I sew on a square of coloured fabric to cover the logo and have added a felt letter and felt flowers. This makes a nice personalized gift too :)

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    1. Mel, that is a great idea too. Thanks for the tip.

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  10. I love this! Many re usable bags are just plain ugly! This makes them over and is gorgeous! I love it!
    Thanks Nanna Chel. What nice gifts these would make! xxx

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  11. Annabel, I am sure you will make yours with pink flowers :-)

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  12. I haven't made yoyos for a long time...they look lovely!

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    1. The added bonus is that they are so easy to make, Meg.

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