Search results (tags) for: "fusing"

News from the Etsy Labs: 4/20 Craft Night with Betz White

2009-04-16T14:00:00-05:00

This Monday evening, learn how to make upcycled tyvek totes! Dust off your crafty pants and come join us for our weekly Craft Night at the Etsy Labs and in the Virtual Labs. Craft Night is a time to make things, learn new skills, and hang out — whether you're here in person or beaming in via the Web. Craft Night occurs every Monday from 4-8pm EDT. Join us online in the Virtual Labs (where the schedule is magically in your time zone) or in person at 325 Gold Street, 3rd floor in Brooklyn, New York.

This week, on Monday, April 20th (just 2 days shy of Earth Day), we'll be creating fabulous totes out of discarded Tyvek envelopes with Betz White, author of the book Sewing Green.
You can decorate your tote with a bubblewrap stamp technique, applique, etc. This project is open to people with a basic level of sewing experience. Supplies will be provided for guests here in Brooklyn.

Not in Brooklyn? Join us for a live broadcast and demo from Craft Night online in the Virtual Labs starting at 5pm EDT. Click here to see what time 5pm EDT is around the world (though we usually take some time to get settled and ready to go). If you are attending Craft Night virtually this week and would like to craft along with us, you'll need a few supplies:

Four 11 1/2" x 15" used Tyvek mailing envelopes

One sheet each of large and small bubblewrap

Scissors

Disappearing ink fabric marker

Paper clips

1" wide sponge brush

Acrylic craft paint

Plate or palette for mixing paint

Newspaper

Or, just be ready to take some notes and see if this is a project you'd like to try out later on. If you've made a project like this before, show off your items in the Virtual Labs or in person at Etsy Labs. We want to see!

Upcoming Craft Nights:

4/27: Open Craft Night

5/4: Scrapplique with Heather Ross

5/11: Cupcake Craft Night with Cupcakes Take the Cake

5/18: Open Craft Night

Would you like to lead a Craft Night project? Send your ideas to labs@etsy.com with "Craft Night idea" as the subject line. Have you participated in Craft Night? Share your photos with the Etsy Labs Show and Tell Flickr group! Want to learn more about the Labs? Check out our FAQs. Want to receive email updates? Join our Etsy Labs mailing list.

If you're on the prowl for some eco-friendly items on Etsy, be sure to check out the links below!

Handpicked Environmentally Friendly Items | Earth Tones | Search Items Tagged "Eco"

How-To Month: Week 1

2008-06-30T11:08:00-05:00

We have a short but exciting week to start our How-To Month in the Virtual Labs. We hope you can stop by and pick up some new techniques this week to add to your crafting portfolio! These How-To's will be broadcast live from our new Craft Station in the Virtual Labs. If you haven't visited the Virtual Labs, check out this FAQ about how they work (or just come on by and we'll show you the ropes, they are very user-friendly and fun!)

New Crafting Station!

Tuesday July 1st - 7pm - Fusing Plastic Bags with Anda in the Treehouse of the Virtual Labs.

Supplies Needed:

Plastic bags (thin, flimsy ones work best)
Parchment paper, freezer paper or plain old copier paper
Iron (and your favorite ironing surface)
Scissors

& a well-ventilated area!

Extra Credit:

Fused plastic makes fun and easy-to-clean bibs! Download this pattern and cut out two pieces (one from the plastic and another from a pretty cotton fabric), pin together with 1/4" bias tape (you'll need about 48") and run a zip-zag stitch around the edges with your sewing machine.

Can't make it to this live How-To? Check out this Storque article with photos and instructions.

Wednesday July 2nd - 5pm - Print Gocco with Julie in the Treehouse of the Virtual Labs.

Supplies Needed:

Riso Print Gocco
B-6 masters (screens)
Print Gocco Lamp (bulbs)
Riso Gocco ink for paper
Riso Gocco pens OR photocopy images (no larger that 3.5” x 5.5”)
adhesive blocking strips (optional)
2 AA batteries
Gocco cleaner
blue filter (for use with photocopies)

Extra Credit:

If you already have a Gocco set-up, print out this Buy Handmade Postcard and make it along with us! If you don't have a Gocco but are curious about this printing method you should come on by and find out how fun and easy print Gocco is!

Can't make it to this live How-To? Check out this Storque article and video.

Thursday July 3rd - 2pm - Crafting with Acrylic Sheet with Daniellexo in the Treehouse of the Virtual Labs.

Supplies Needed:

1/8" thickness Cast Acrylic Sheet Scraps or Sample sizes
Jeweler's Saw
1/0 Saw blades
Bar of Soap
Bench Pin
Emery paper
Hand files
A simple silhouette to cut out
Dremel rotary tool or flex shaft motor with bits (helpful but not necessary)

If you don't have these tools (or have any idea what these tools even are) don't worry! Come check out the How-To and we'll explain the tools and how to use them. Then you can decide if this is a technique you might want to try!

Want to find out what the next round of How-To's will be? Have a peek at this article. We'll have more details on next weeks skill shares later this week, so stay tuned!

Etsy Finds: Fused Plastic Bags

2008-04-22T09:00:00-05:00

It's been almost a year since I wrote up a tutorial on the old Etsy Labs blog on fusing plastic bags. Since then, we've taught tons of people to iron their trash into fun fake tyvek and even made a video or two about it.

And we weren't the only ones experimenting with this upcycling technique — I searched the internets and found plastic fabric (SLiK nonwoven textiles by Karin Carter), wallets (both via Vestal Design), plastic bag upcycling artists, conceptual works, beads, and bags. And more bags.

Since I last had a look for fused plastic bags, the amount of cool stuff on Etsy has tripled. Here are some of my favorites:

Recycled Fruit Bags Peekaboo Clutch Wristlet Pouch

Made from those clear bags you fill up with produce at the grocery store. By SoSheSews, $7.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Funky Cuff - Fused Plastic

Wear your upcycling pride on your sleeve. By fookadesigns, $3.50.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Custom PCEnLUV lunchbag, lined with fused plastic, delicious and eco...

Fused plastic makes a great, easy-to-clean lining material. By nectorgirl, $26.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Go Green Recycled Plastic Bag Wallet

Made from fused plastic bags "sammiched" in between layers of clear vinyl. A big fat reminder to recycle everytime you take out your wallet, too. By CatzillaCrafts, $18.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

I just need to be held laptop bag

I like it when people use a million different bags and start getting these nice abstract designs in their work. By curiousdoodles, $55.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Re-purposed Plastic Wallet

Straightforward zipper purse. These make awesome makeup bags, too. By Catherinette, $15.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

THE JUNKIE tote . empty chairs, John Locke and beer . slutbag

Made from plastic bags and recycled olive leather. By slutbag, $40.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Plastic Bag Plastic Bag Necklace

I love this. A pendant made of fused plastic bags shaped into a....plastic bag. So cute! By Bemyshark , $7.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Fused Grocery Bags

Upscale upcycled purse. The scales idea is so good. By mssmo85, $8.20.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Need a daily fix of Etsy Finds? Sign up for the Etsy Finds e-mail! Conveniently delivered to your inbox on the daily!

P.S. Happy Earth Day!

Fusing Plastic Bags with the Etsy Labs

2008-01-25T10:11:00-05:00

This tutorial on fusing plastic bags was originally published on the now-retired Etsy Labs blog in May of 2007. Due to popular demand, we are reposting it in The Storque. Enjoy!

I realized this afternoon that I basically explain this technique to an Etsy Labs visitor at least once a day, but had never put the instructions online. So, here it is. Fusing! Plastic! Bags!

Do you have one zillion plastic drugstore and grocery bags under your sink, or perhaps smushed into a drawer? Ever wanted a cheap and easy use for them? One that leaves you with an intriguing and useful homemade craft supply? Do you have an iron? Why don't you fuse them together?

What you'll need
Plastic bags (thin, flimsy ones work best)
Parchment paper, freezer paper or plain old copier paper
Iron (and your favorite ironing surface)
Scissors

Making it
Please do this in a well-ventilated area.

Flatten out the bag and trim the bottom seam and handles off. This allows the bag to be opened up into a larger rectangle of plastic.

Turn the bag inside-out if it has printing on it. Once the ink heats up, it comes off the bag and makes a huge mess. If the bag has an interesting design that you'd like to preserve, try using a clear plastic bag layered on top of the printed one.

We find that between 6-8 layers of plastic gives the best results. So, you can either fold your bag twice until it is 8 ply thick, or use three or more bags layered on top of one another. Trying to fuse less than 6 layers often results in little holes forming in the finished piece and a generally weaker material.

Sandwich your plastic bags between the parchment paper

Next, run a hot iron (we set ours to "rayon," but you will need to experiment a little to see what works for you) and keep the iron moving constantly. Make sure to get the edges, and after about 15 seconds, flip it over and iron the opposite side for a few seconds.

Peel a corner of the paper back to see if the plastic is fused together. It should be fairly smooth and "one sheet" to the touch (watch out, its a little hot). If the layers are not all melted together, iron it some more.

Peel the parchment paper away from the finished plastic sheet. Voila! Now, you can use this stuff to make a million things. We've made re-usable grocery totes, wallets, and floor cushions; I think its an inexpensive way to make waterproof linings for beach bags and make-up clutches.

Behind-the-Scenes of our first Online Workshop!

2007-04-01T20:00:00-05:00

Anda did a How-to on Upcycling Plastic Grocery Bags. Fusing pastic is a great way to creatively reuse your trash! Anda even appliques with fused plastic!

This lil video shows the behind-the-scenes of the Workshop application, which is an online multi-user environment that uses Flash Media Server. Jared was at the helm with the equipment: we were using two webcam live feeds, one for a closeup and one for a fullshot. We mic'ed Anda with a lav mic for better sound. We had it limited to 20 people attending the Workshop online.

In the future we'll be saving and archiving the Workshops's video feeds so we can watch em later.