How to turn cereal bags and fabric scraps into beautiful wrapping paper

I have been collecting cereal bags for a while now.  My collection is getting out of control so I thought it was time to do some more experimenting with.... you guessed it.....FUSING PLASTIC.  I just cannot go too long without playing around with this idea, and since my last experience with fusing plastic turned out so well, I thought I would try it again.  If you have missed my previous tutorials on fusing plastic, just stick around and at the bottom of this post I will have some links that will take you where you want to go to learn more.  

Here is my cereal bag collection.

 

I took these 17 bags and cut off the bottoms and separated the front from the back.  They were still a little dirty, so I wiped them down and let them dry.

To start, I knew I wanted to create a Valentine's Day craft.  So, not having any red plastic to fuse between the cereal bags, I opted to try sandwiching some heart fabric between two sections of plastic. There actually is not a lot of fusing going on here.  Just place the material you want between two sheets of your prepared plastic.  Make sure your fabric is a little smaller than your plastic pieces because you will be melting the edges by ironing, and that is what makes the seal.

NEVER IRON DIRECTLY ON THE PLASTIC

In the above picture you can see that I have placed a piece of material over the area I wanted to seal.  You do not want to ruin your iron by placing it directly on plastic.  Also, the iron needs to be on the lowest setting.  Just keep moving the iron back and forth in slow motions.  Don't get impatient.  If it does not appear to be fusing the plastic, then turn up the heat a little at a time until you get it to the right setting.  (Don't crank it up like I do when I get impatient!)  If you get it too hot, you will go beyond just sealing, you will completely melt the plastic and all that will be left is just a wrinkly mess and lots of holes.  You do not want that.

SAFTEY NOTE:  I either fuse plastic out in the garage with the door open or if I have to be inside I open the window to let in fresh air while I'm doing this.  Fumes are released when you melt the plastic, so just be responsible.  

Here is the material fused and ready for the next step.  Note the melted mess at the bottom where I cranked up the heat! :)

The next step...

Well, I really did not know what the next step would be.  I did not even know what I was making, but that is the fun of art sometimes: creating as you go and just letting the craft direct you.  Of course, being a bag person, I was hoping it would become some type of bag.  Possible a wallet, checkbook, or maybe another bag for Aldi shopping.  Whatever it was going to be I knew it needed something......STITCHING!

I decided to do a zigzag stitch over some of the hearts.  I would have liked to do all, but we are going for economical here and I did not want to use ALL of my red thread.  

Sewing through plastic is no big deal.  I am using a heavy duty denim needle and it worked just fine.  If this peaks your interest, you should check out my SEWING ON CARDS tutorial. 

 

I think this added just the right touch, and it also tacked down the material to the plastic so it would not move around.  

At this point I began thinking about a gift I needed to wrap for one of my girls...

AHA!!  WRAPPING PAPER!  So, Valentine's Day wrapping paper is what this little project became.  

So give this project a try and let me know how it works for you.  I think your friends will be impressed with your thriftiness when they receive this cute little gift from you this Valentine's Day. 

If you are interested in seeing some of my other projects where I experimented with FUSING PLASTIC, then check out these post...

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Don't forget to enter the AMERICAN GIRL VALENTINE'S GIVEAWAY before you leave because it ENDS TODAY! 

 

I hope you all have a very creative week! 

Blessings,

Gina

I will be linking up to THESE great parties!