Rave: Becoming a bag lady

Last year at Oshkosh (see posts from 25 July 2011 through 16 August 2011), the group we camp with saved their beer and pop tabs so I could make a purse like my friend Ann’s.
Since we have anywhere from 25 to 100 people in camp at any given time, I ended up with enough tabs for several bags and gleefully promised to post pictures of the finished project.

Fast-forward to this summer. Three weeks before Airventure 2012, and I hadn’t even started. The pressure was on!

Somehow I managed to finish in time, and now, as promised and long overdue, here are the photos.

First, I made this small purse in order to get a feel for what I was doing.

Then I moved on to bigger things. Here’s some pictures of the bag I now carry proudly as my purse. 

Now I know you’re all aching to rush out and make your own bag just like mine, so below is a link to a blog that gives  instructions (with photos!) on how to do it.

http://www.poptabpurse.blogspot.com/

Of course yours won’t look exactly like mine — and trust me, you really don’t want it to — but if you can know some basic crochet stitches, you can come up with your own version. And if you don’t crochet, learn how to chain and you’re on your way!

And, on the subject of bags, another friend of mine recently showed me a great Duct Tape bag she had made with her daughter at a Girl Scout meeting. It was very cool. Being the bag lady that I am, I immediately conned her into making me one.

Here it is.

Cool, eh? Even better, these bags are so simple a ten-year-old can make one.
Or even me. Check out this one that I made today!

Here’s the link for step by step directions (also with pictures):

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2010/09/tutorial-how-to-make-duct-tape-purses.html

As you can see, duct tape now comes in all sorts of cool colors and patterns. The best is made right here in northern Ohio by Duck Brand Duct Tape. They sponsor a scholarship each year awarded for — and I’m not joking here — the best prom outfit made entirely of duct tape. If you don’t believe me, go to “Stuck at Prom, 2012” to have a look. http://www.duckbrand.com/Promotions/stuck-at-prom.aspx

It’s a Bag Lady revolution.  Make your own duct tape or pop tab purse, and join us!

Addendum: If you happen to be in Ohio next June, you can attend the Duct Tape Festival. http://ducttapefestival.com/ Who says midwesterners don’t know how to throw a party?