ReMake disposable plastic bags into fused placemats!

What a great idea! I have all those plastic bags from the grocery store that could be put to good use! I can't wait to make these placemats!


Here is the video:

D-I-Y > Plastic bag placemat description: Dress up your dining room by turning disposable plastic bags into reusable placemats. Here you'll learn how to heat-fuse plastic bags together. Then simply cut out a rectangle and you have a new table setting. If you’re like me and turn down plastic bags at the checkout counter, ask your friends and family to start collecting. Once you get the hang of heat-fusing, you can apply this technique to a wide range of projects. Create coasters, reusable tote bags, pencil cases and more. Your only limit will be your collection of plastic bags! materials: - 3 plastic bags - a ruler - a pen - a pair of scissors - 2 sheets of kraft paper - an iron instructions: 1. Measure and cut ¼ inch off the bottom of each plastic bag. 2. Turn the bags inside out and stack them on top of each other. Place the stack of bags on one large piece of wax or parchment paper and cover the stack with another large piece of wax or parchment paper. Place this entire stack on the ironing board. 3. Set your iron to medium heat (the rayon or polyester setting). Do a test: iron one corner of your stack of bags to make sure they don’t burn. If they do, turn the iron down. Once you have the correct setting, slowly run the iron over the top of your paper, always keeping  the iron moving. Run the iron over the bags several times, but never touch the hot iron directly to the plastic. This technique fuses the plastic bags together so they become a solid piece of plastic. Turn off your iron and set it aside. 4. Take the fused plastic bags out from the layers of wax or parchment paper. Using a ruler, mark and cut out a rectangle on the fused plastic that is 17 inches x 11 inches. Wipe off any  marker you can still see. Round the corners with your scissors. Make as many placemats as you’d like. Then, serve on these ReMade placemats at your next meal. Here is the link: RePlayGround

Uncle Lou's Visit to Maryland

My Mom's brother, Lou Dlabick, or Uncle Dziusiu as we all know him, came to Maryland this Sunday with his son and his son's family to visit his family in Maryland and Pennsylvania. He will be here until Saturday morning when they will drive back to Ohio where the uncle lives. On Sunday, Jimmy (the son and our cousin) and his family will drive back to Missouri. I have included some pictures that we took so far and will add more later.

This is my Uncle Lou with his older sister, Aunt Stella. Lou will be 86 in December and Aunt Stella will be 93 in November. Lou is getting around great and is just so positive and happy. He says that he may not be rich in money but he is so rich in the love of family. He makes you everyone feel so happy and loved by just being around him!  Aunt Stella is walking with a cane - not because she needs to use it to walk but just in case she needs to hit someone in self defense. She has a great memory and relates all kinds of stories from the past to anyone who will listen, and even to those who don't want to listen ;-).

This is a picture of Uncle Lou holding a picture of his sisters and himself taken some years back. My Mom and Aunt Mary have passed away but Aunt Wanda, Aunt Stella, and Uncle Lou are still going strong.

One more thing - Uncle Lou is on Facebook! I think that is so great!

Calvin Nicholls Paper sculpture artist

A friend sent me pictures of Calvin Nicholls paper sculptures and I was just amazed!! Here is more information that describes what Calvin does. I have also included some pictures of his work.


"Calvin has been creating his paper sculptures since 1986 from his studio north of Toronto Ontario, Canada. Working with sheets of paper and a scalpel, he cuts the component pieces to fit the final drawing and assembles the low relief artwork under studio lighting. When the sculpture is complete the lighting is adjusted to bring out the subtle form and texture. A large format camera is used to capture the detail on 8x10 film prior to scanning for print applications or art prints."

Here is the link Calvin Nicholls provided by Behance if you want to see more of his work.