Hello everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I know I am. We've been celebrating my son Jacob's birthday; I can't believe he is 10 already.
I addition to birthdays (two of my nephews and my friend's son are on the list of celebrations, as well), I've also been filling my time with holiday gatherings, programs and such. No wonder you haven't heard much from me online. It's also another reason why I haven't had many, if any, food posts with you. Times like these have me toting along some Pure Bars wherever I go.
You may recall me mentioning that Pure Bar project quite a while ago. You'd probably thought I'd given up on it. In fact, I, too, was wondering if I'd ever get around to it.
Luckily, I found a moment yesterday to construct this colorful creation, perfect for carrying around a Pure Bar snack and my usual purse contents. There is no doubt that I used Pure Bars to construct it.
For those of you out of the loop, my Pure Bar Project started as a Twitter chat set up by FitFluential, Pure Bar and GNC. Someone participating in the chat asked if Pure Bar had a program set up for recycling the wrappers. I suggested that she make something out of the wrappers, like Terracycle. Before I knew it, ideas started being tweeted and other participants wanted in on the action.
That was probably the last I heard of the project, but it didn't stop me from following through with it (I am a woman of my word). I stocked up on Pure Bars (I purchased them all myself) and ate a lot of them. I also held onto the clear plastic envelope I received in my last Eco Emi, in case it could be of use. All I needed was a plan.
Since I make so many accessories on my site, it made sense to transform the wrappers into jewelry and/or a bag. Of course, my first idea was to make one of those upcycled woven wrapper purses, using the same technique I did as a kid to fold gum wrappers into bracelets.
When I experimented with folding the wrappers, I realized it was no longer clear that these were Pure Bar wrappers, so instead, I decided to take a different approach that would really showcase the simple beauty of their design.
I actually sewed the wrappers together side-by-side, like an array of Pure Bar flavors. I treated the wrappers as if they were fabric.
I repeated the process with another group of wrappers in the same pattern, so I'd have a matching front and back to the purse. Then, I sewed the front and back together, forming the purse around that plastic envelope I saved from my November Eco Emi box (it gave the purse some structure). I also cut a slit in the side of the plastic envelope, which lined up with the opening of the purse.
I must apologize for the lack of pics and instructions, as I was making this in a hurry (it was getting dark, and I had some hungry mouths to feed) and without a well-thought plan in place. Anyway, I also sewed some more wrappers for the strap and secured the wrapper fabric, plastic envelope and wrapper strap together with some matching brown duck tape (I just love duck tape crafts).
Then, I needed some kind of closure. I found a zipper in my sewing basket, which I installed with some more duck tape.
So, here is my finished Pure purse. What do you think? Did anyone reading this go through with the Pure Bar Project? If so, what did you create? I still have more wrappers. I hope to make a matching wallet and possibly a statement necklace. I'll post them, if I do.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :-)
*Again, I just wanted to make clear that Pure Bar did not pay me to do this post. I also purchased all the Pure Bars myself. I just love a challenge.
