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Trash To Treasure

coffee bags and potholders

concretenprimroses

15 years ago

I'm doing this in two messages in case the pics are too big for dial up folks all at once. I emptied one of those foil coffee bags and was thinking about how sturdy it is and should be reusable for something. I put water in it to make sure it held water and of course it does. But so what, its too flimsy to give away flowers in for instance. Then I remembered that I had this pretty raku vase a friend made for me years ago that leaks so I can't use it for flowers. I'd tried putting things inside, but its irregularly shaped and things similar in size didn't fit right. The coffee bag works great and conforms to the funny shape onthe inside. I almost want to buy flowers to try it out.

Could put lots of them in a basket to gather flowers... They are light weight. Anything thats not water proof that a coffee bag can be squished into can be a vase.

kathy

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Comments (3)

concretenprimroses
Original Author
15 years ago
Years ago when I worked in our local thrift store there was a lady who would come at the end of our $1/bag sales and pick out things that we would "give" her. I put give in quotes cuz she gave most of them back in the form of pot holders and shopping bags which we then sold. She took cotton clothing and old towels home and washed them and made things. The potholders have terry cloth towel in the middle. They are my favorite pot holders still more than 20 years later. (I wore out quite a few but still have these.) You can see that I've patched a couple of them. Hers are the first pic, then the second are some I made, inspired by her, from an old worn out towel and some fabric samples. I wish I remembered her name - she was doing this before recycling was so fashionable!

and here are mine

kathy
sunnyca_gw
15 years ago
Great ideas & I'll bet the potholders feel a lot more secure in your hands. Ones from store are often stiff & i have no luck with the mitts,I have small hands & I can't get a grip on anything with them. Some potholders are very thin also. I used to really like the "free" ones the people running for local gov't offices used to give away. They had nice thickness & sometimes 1 side was silvered or goldish like the ironing board pads used to be. Oh, another bag that will work even to put a gift in is potato chip bag. It can be washed & turned inside out & nice silver color on it slip gift in & fold down & tie with ribbon. Jan
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You're talking about putting that stuff in a compost pile and putting the finished compost on your plants, right? I put that stuff in my compost all the time. I put the coffee grounds in with their paper filters. I put paper tea bags in intact -- string and paper tags too. I cut the plastic mesh tea bags open and discard the plastic. There are things you could dig directly into the ground around plants like banana peels, but, for the most part, better to let it decompose first. And when you put stuff around your plants, make sure to keep it 1 1/2" away from the stems to avoid stem rot. I've also used coffee grounds as a mulch but just for acid-loving plants like azaleas.
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concretenprimroses
Original Author
15 years ago
Good idea about the potato chip bag. So much packaging is very sturdy, its a shame not to reuse it. I've got some plans for handbags using some of this kind of stuff plus duct tape and old plastic table cloths. An inside out little potato chip bag sewn down the middle might just make a good cell phone and pen pouch. I'm just too scattered tho, cuz right now I'm covering a light bulb with half marbles, lol. Gotta do the bags next!
kathy

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