Rolled Paper Bowl Tutorial

 Rolled Paper Bowls.

Really the options are limitless to how large/small you can make these. If you are using a magazine, like I am here, the color comes out mostly whiteish with splashes of color.

So we start by tearing out the pages. Then roll them like this:
If you have a magazine that is just stapled in the middle, you can take that out and get double wide paper and make really long tubes! bonus**
You can either use a glue gun or a glue stick at the end to hold in place.

 So roll like a billion of the tubes. Seriously, it takes way more than you would think.

Then you want to flatten the rolls.
So just squish them between your fingers...

 And voila, you end up with the tubes looking curvy like these.
This is the beginning of your bowl shape.

So start rolling the 1st tube. You should make this as tight as possible.

So when one tube runs out, hot glue another one to it and continue. Repeat*

So I'm making a smaller bowl to hold pins at my desk, so I only did like 8 billion tubes! It was like 1/2 a beading catalog worth of tubes.

Then you want to push the bottom of the circle out. If you have a bowl you can lay this on, that works great to get an even shape. So push it over the bowl template.Try to do it evenly.

Dump a bunch of mod podge or whatever glue you want to use into the bowl.

Brush around the inside of the bowl. Let dry and repeat on the outside of the bowl.

*you can repeat this step a couple of times for a super sturdy bowl.

I like to spray the finished bowl with an acylic lacquer. This makes it shiny and gives it some water resisitance.

 PS I have some cool bowls up in my etsy shop if you want to pursue other options Fun Paper Bowls

Recycled Plastic Bag Tutorial

Start by selecting some good plastic grocery bags.

Note depending on the size of the bag you are going to make, you may need ALOT of bags!!!

I recommend getting some different colors to give your bag some flair, but whatever you have around works well.

Start by cutting off the handles and then work your way around the bag cutting it into even strips (I use my thumb as a measuring guide. Strips are the same width as my thumb nail, so approx 1/2" wide). These strips will fold up as you knit/crochet, so this isn't the final size.

So now you should have a giant pile of plastic strips.

Cut up some more bags, keep going until your hand cramps up and you may have enough bags to make a bag! If not you can always cut more later.

You can connect the different bags by just tieing a simple knot. There is nothing easier.

Roll your plarn (plastic yarn) into a ball to make it easier to work with and to keep yourself from tripping over it when you take a break (or if you are me, to keep your dogs from running through it and ripping the strips apart)

Keep different colors in separate balls, after all it's not everyday you go shopping someplace where you can get a pink/orange or blue bag. Those are special!

And Start Crocheting your bag. You know how to knit/crochet already so just work the plarn like you would any other yarn and make the bag you want

And voila! It's a super durable, waterproof bag. Totally awesome and you saved soooooo many plastic bags from going to the landfill or winding up in the ocean where they kill the sealife. Aren't you so smart!

This bag and others like it are available for purchase in my etsy shop!

Click here to go to the bag section of my shop

Thanks for reading and I hope you have lots of fun making you own recycled bags

Wow how the time Flies

I can't believe my last post was last July. That seems like ages ago. I bet everyone is wondering what happened. Let me tell you, we had a baby October 13th and that has pretty much consumed our world. We still have the etsy shops and have done just a few craft fairs, but I have really slacked on blogging and facebook updates. I apologize to everyone and I make a promise to wait almost another year for the next post :)


So what have I been up to? My personal new obesssion is ribbon rings. They are the coolest thing and I have more than 20 different styles up in the shop right now.

Click here to go the ring section of our shop

Some rings are simple and elegant, some are quite large, some are just fun with fruits and buttons. A little bit of everything to suite everyone's tastes.

And the best part is..... they are all on adjustable ring bases, so they will fit everyone!






The other new thing is the expansion of our apparel line. I have to say I believe this was solely motivated by having a baby and wanting unique thing for him to wear.

Baby Onesies: Click here

The hubby has been having lots of fun with zombie and star wars inspired onesies.

Not to forget his ever expanding line of adult zombie shirts (obsession or just crazy??? you decide)
Adult Zombie Shirts Here

I am really loving the blood splatter look he has going now and think it gives the zombie items that extra something cool.

Check off another Fair

The 4th of July Fair in Monona is officially another one done and in the books.
It was hot, and there wasn't a breeze to blow even a piece of paper around. Thankfully we invested in this great battery operated fan that provided some relief. If only they made larger ones that could really pump out some coolness. If it wasn't for all the paper products, I'm seriously considering one of those misters :)

I do really like hanging the jewelry display board on the side of the tent. It frees up more space for stuffed animals on the table. The downside, I think people are more hesitant to ask for help with the earrings when they are pinned to the board. The upside, set-up and tear down literally took like 15 mins each. We will have to watch sales and see what happens.

Staying up to date

So a couple of things have happened this week.
1st of all we are in a new store in Oshkosh. Very exciting. The link is on the right side bar to the shop's website.

2nd, paper quilling. Such fun. And through trial and error we have discovered how to coat the product so that the paper is solid and wearable. There is one pair of quilled earrings up in the shop now with more to come.
Click here to see the earrings

3rd: my WI etsy group is participating in an Etsy top 10 list challenge. Everyone gets to submit 2 items and then the public votes on what is the coolest stuff.
Click here to see the list and vote

New Project

Has anyone heard of Paper Quilling before?
One of my friends just introduced me to it yesterday and I am in love. It starts off similar to making paper beads, with narrow, long strips of paper. You then either roll them loose or tight and let the paper expand. You can get some really cool shapes.
Last night I played around with some scrap paper and ended up making a whole pile of flower petals.
I am excited, this stuff looks really cool and I think it will really advance the paper jewelry we currently produce.
Now all I have to play around with is how to coat the finished project to make it uber durable to wear. Because this is paper, but it needs to withstand wear and tear. and unlike paper beads that are all tightly wound, these are mostly loosely round and sometimes just 1 layer of paper is holding the whole design together.
I'll post some photos or links once I get stuff up and going a little more :)

Sun Prairie

Well the craft fair was a success despite the cold, overcast day.
Seems like Sun Prairie is a Zombie loving town, because the shirts and bibs were just loved.

I have thought of a new booth layout and an excited to try that at our next event, which will either be the 25th in New Glarus or the 4th of July in Monona. Either ways, I think it will look cool and will allow us to put more stuffed animals out, which are always a hit!