Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Beach Bag from Recycled Materials

A few months ago a got a new mattress. I had nicknamed my old mattress "the crater". It was time for a new  one. I got a memory foam mattress. Its the best thing that I've ever bought. I got a full size for $250 on Overstock. Such a great deal. 

Ok Anyway, It came rolled and wrapped in this woven plastic wrapper (you cut it and it goes "poof" and it expands :P ). Being the "craft-a-holic" that I am. I thought "hmmm what can I make out of this??" So I saved it. 

and I made this:


 Read on to see the tutorial. ( you can use this tutorial to make a beach bag out of any material.)



 Here is the plastic stuff that I used as my material.


 First I cut out one long rectangle and folded it in half. The half should be the size of your beach bag. 


 Now cut a piece of ribbon (on hand)and sew it along the top for cute-ness. 
(If you are using fabric you may want to hem it. )
 I used a contrasting color thread because I'm fancy like that.
 Now sew up all three sides leaving the top open.
 Now you are going to pin the bottom corners, Like this. (a pictures worth a thousand words)
 Here is a side view:
 Now sew across the corners. This is going to give your bag a bottom.
 Trim off the extra.
 Now make some handles out of fun fabric and stitch those on there.
 Using the same fabric I cut out parts of the fabric that I like. I hot glued them onto the bag since it is plastic. If you have a fabric bag you can sew it or use the iron fusing stuff
 Here is the back
 See how fashionable I am? ;)
 Oooo, the other side!


39 comments:

  1. That is so super cute! I love it! I want it! :)

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  2. .......how do I get out of here?

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  3. Love it! As another who recycles, it is GREAT to see you make great from what would otherwise go in our landfill. Thanks for your contribution!

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  4. wow, what a clever idea. your bag turned out so cute.

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  5. love how colorful it is! so cute :)

    Thanks for linking up to Your Whims Wednesday! Hope to see you again this week :)

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  6. Cool! I've actually been looking for a good tutorial for a big bag (to use for shopping, though). This is perfect. I found you through the Newlyweds on a Budget party. I'm your newest follower. Would love a follow back if you're interested: http://creativecarissa.blogspot.com

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  7. "Found in the Ali"....that's so cute! My first visit to your blog, and what do I find? Brilliance! I'll be back!

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  8. This looks fantastic! Thanks so much for linking up to last weeks Tutorial Tuesday! I hope you come party with us again next week.

    Kari
    Newlyweds on a Budget
    www.morganandkari.com

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  9. You are so creative. Thank you for having such a beautiful creative brain!

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  10. That's really cute!

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  11. Love it!! very smart not to waste the wrapper and make something so beautiful out of it. I love the top fabric too. Will definitely try to make it. Thanks for the great idea.

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  12. How creative! Great idea for re-purposing or recycling. Very nice!

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  13. I NEVER COMPLETELY READ THE WHOLE TUTORIAL TIL NOW. THE FLOWERS ARE REAL FABRIC RIGHT? I SO LOVE THIS BAG

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  14. Jude
    Very cute bag, thanks for sharing

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  15. My husband buys bird seed that comes in a bag with that kind of woven plastic fabric. I used a similar idea to make a basket type storage thingy. I just folded the top down to make a sturdy rim. I am using it to hold large mailing envelopes, in my craft room, since I do a lot of mailing.

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  16. Horse feed bags are great for making this type of fun bag too.

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    1. Very good idea for a large bag. I love these tutorials I have found and I am incorporating them into my own little business. I have made an entire swimming etc and am using the bag tut for my beach bag. I did mess up a little but that was before I found the tut. Looks great!!
      Loretta Davis
      www.chaloracrafts.com

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  17. Any of the bags with the woven fabric will work. I love all the different graphics, just be careful, some are not as water resistent. I had a bag almost completed when the design came off. Oops. I line them with home decor fabric and lots of pockets. One suggestion I would do is to carry the straps further down the bag. That helps take the strain off where they are sewn on. Either side will work. I hide mine on the inside between the lining and bag.

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  18. Recycle,recreate and reuse. Love not feeding the landfill!!

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  19. I put a comment on the Facebook page of AllFreeSewing. It is a beautiful bag.

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  20. such a great idea!!!!!!!! i would have never thouight of it. thank you sooooooo much!!!!!

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  21. Such a cute bag! I've been making bags sort of like that, only using feed sacks from dog, cat, poultry, hog, lamb and horses. Love your creative idea of using the mattress cover. Thanks for keeping it out of the landfill.
    ~~Lori

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  22. Ha! Ha! This is my 1st trip to "The Ali" and I'm really impressed!
    You seem to be one really clever, creative lady!
    Its great that you've kept this Beach Bag simple/straight-forward
    (er, I hope!:-}) as I'm very much at the BEGINNER stage of everything!
    I'm definitely going to give this a try and look forward to finding more fabulous ideas "in your Ali"!

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