Coasters made from Upcycled Plastic Grocery Bags

It's no news that humans' overconsumption of our planet's natural resources is taking a toll on it. And it is up to us to do whatever we can to slow that down or stop it. I'm talking about reducing plastic usage and waste production, reusing whatever plastics we have already used, and then recycling it once it can't be used anymore. The three R's aren't just for plastic; they're for anything. But right now, we're going to talk about plastic. Specifically plastic bags. No matter how hard you try to take your big tote bag to the grocery store, you always come back with some plastic bags. So, what if I told you there are countless DIYs that are so quick and easy that even the busiest of people can give their minds to rest while doing these. What we are going to talk about today is coasters made from plastic grocery bags.

I looked around for a DIY craft I could do with my friends for quite a while, and this was my favorite one. I found a tutorial on creativejewishmom.com, tried it out to see if it worked, and fell in love. Here are the instructions, plus more tips and tricks I wish I had before I started.

The materials you'll need are: 

• plastic grocery bags, 
• scissors, 
• two scratch pieces of paper, 
• and an iron. 
• Having any paint, markers, or other decorative materials is optional. 
• Make sure you are in a well-ventilated area to protect yourself from any plastic fumes that may occur. I just opened all the windows in the room that I was doing it in. You can also go outside and do it; if you have a large room, that should be okay, too.

Procedure:

1. The first step is to take your plastic bags and cut the handles off them. This will help you get a nice square canvas. Then you want to take your plastic bags, which should now be relatively square-shaped, and fold them into fours. You will do this with about three or four bags, depending on the desired coaster thickness and how thin the bags are.
2. Afterward, you want to place one piece of paper on a flat surface that you can iron on, place the folded plastic bags on the article, and cover the bags with the second piece of paper, ensuring no plastic is peeking out. The two pieces of paper protect the ironing board and the iron itself from the melting plastic.
3. Immediately following, you will heat the iron to the highest level and slowly start running it over the paper. You want to take your time and slowly and carefully spread the heat evenly over all parts of the paper's surface. This heat will help the plastic melt and fuse, creating a more rigid plastic material perfect for a coaster. You can occasionally lift it up from the corner to check if it's melted and appropriately hardened.
4. Around 1 to 2 minutes later, you can stop ironing and wait a few seconds for the paper to cool before peeling both layers away from the plastic. This step is crucial because you must be careful that the form doesn't stick to the plastic. Try peeling both pieces off simultaneously because often, if you only peel one paper off, the plastic starts curling in that direction, and it's not as flat as it should be anymore. It might take a couple tries, but once you get the hang of it, it should be a piece of cake.
5. Once you've separated the plastic from the paper, you can use a stencil or something to cut out the plastic to your desired shape. You can do hearts or stars or stick to the basic circles and squares. Depending on how big your piece of plastic is and what size you want, you should be able to get anywhere from one to three coasters out of it.
6. Finally, you can start decorating. If your plastic bag is beautifully decorated and you want to leave it the way it is, that's totally up to you. But if there are a lot of random words and colors that just end up looking like a big mess, then the best thing to do would be to use some acrylic paints to slap on a base coat and then maybe use some puffy fabric paints to write words or draw some shapes over it. You can even paint on stripes and polka dots with acrylic paint or do whatever floats your boat!
7. Alas, you can enjoy your drink. I like to use my coasters to protect all of the waterfalls that come from the condensation of my iced coffees, and I also like to use them to protect the wood from hot mugs when I'm drinking tea and things like that.

This is a perfect DIY activity to do with family and friends. It doesn't even take more than half an hour. My family and I usually reuse plastic bags as often as possible. Still, once they rip and can't hold anything, this coaster is a perfect way to fuse the plastic back together and upcycle it into something completely new. You can revamp your pantry and all your rooms, giving every table its coaster. It was one of my favorite DIYs, and I loved helping the planet simultaneously rather than creating waste. 

Let me know down below if you liked this DIY and if you try it out! I'd love to see what you think!

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