03/06/2012 - Small Magazine Bowl

Junk mail is annoying, but catalogs are fun to look at. Patagonia catalogs have some amazing photography, so even though it can just be recycled, it is nice to give it another life.

Reclaimed Material: magazine pages
Other/New Material: none
Tools: glue, paintbrush, little cup

How I did it: I tore out pages from the catalog, picking out colors that stood out to me. I folded each sheet (3 of them) in half, then in half again, then in half again, etc., etc., etc., until it was about half an inch thick. I poured some glue in the little cup and added a little water to it. I painted the glue onto one of the folded strips then started coiling it, adding more glue as necessary. I added on another strip once I reached the end of the first and made the coil for the bottom about 2" in diameter then started winding the strips up for the sides of the bowl, continually adding glue.

What I would do differently: Just like some of my other projects, this is one that just requires some practice. I will probably do some variations of this project. I haven't made paper beads in a few years, so that could be on April's agenda.

01/19/2012 - Pop Tab Bowl

I was curious to see if I could make a little change or jewelry bowl by weaving pop tabs together. This took me much longer than I thought it would and didn't quite turn out how I pictured it in my mind. I guess this could also be used as a doll hat instead.


Recycled Material: aluminum pop tabs
Other Material: ribbon
Tools: scissors, small safety pin, long nosed pliers


How I did it: I began by weaving the bottom row of tabs together then added another row by using the ribbon to weave the bottom of the second row of tabs to the tops of the first row (I will create a detailed instruction page with photos on how to weave pop tabs at a later date). I then pulled the ends of the ribbon to form a circle with the woven tabs and tied the ribbon off. I thought about stopping there and just making a flower brooch, but I would have just wondered...what could have been, so I kept going. For the third row, I used the pliers to bend the tabs in half between the top and the bottom then used the ribbon to attach it to the second row. I added three more rows, tying off the ribbon as I completed each row.

What I would do differently: I think my vision would have come to life if I used wire so that I could have shaped the bowl better. The ribbon is too soft to hold the shape very well. I may try soldering tabs into a bowl and see what happens. I also thought about turning this into a tulip somehow since that is what it looks like to me.