readymade frenzy

yesterday was a solid day. I discovered that my favorite inspiring DIY mag, ReadyMade, now archives all of its past issues online. If you are remotely DIY-inclined, this is huge. I happily spent the afternoon drooling over potential projects, even if I passed over most of them due to lack of time/power tools/skills. This one, however, I couldn't resist: the plastic bag bag. In a witty twist on materials, the bag takes the ubiquitous disposable shopping bag and reinterprets it as fabric, sewing patches of thick, doubled-over plastic bag together to create a permanent handbag.

I switched to reusable grocery bags over a year ago and consider myself (almost) fully trained to grab my canvas tote before heading out the door. Even with the best of intentions, though, I manage to come home with a plastic bag now and then, and feel guilty when I stare at the accumulating pile waiting to be recycled. Remorse no longer-I will now be collecting a stash to sew into a handbag when the pile gets large enough.

May the DIY mindset last as long as those indestructible plastic bags do!