guest post {Piper}

Hello lovely readers of Dot in the City!

My name is Piper and I'm visiting here today from my blog Reviving Remnants while Beth is in Guatemala. What an adventurous gal!
I have a little DIY to share with you today.

One of my great loves is this beautiful Earth we live in. Here's a little trivia. What is the largest manmade structure on earth? When I was asked this, my answer was "the Great Wall of China." Boy was I ever wrong! It's actually the Fresh Kills Landfill outside New York City. It's spans over 2,000 acres and has been measured at 25 meters taller than the Statue of Liberty! That's a lot of trash.

(Photo Source)

I believe humans have a responsibility for caring for the Earth. One way we can do that is by re-using materials we already have. Today I'm going to show you one way to reuse brown paper bags.

 

These are just ordinary grocery sacks. Some grocery stores have stopped carrying them, but they're still around. When I look at these beauties, all I see is craft paper just waiting to be re-made! Today I'm going to show you (or remind you) how to make a paper heart chain. The last time I did this I was around 9 years old, but it's still fun!

Step 1: Cut your bag into strips. Keep in mind that the width of the strip you cut will control the height of the heart.
If you cut straight across the bag you will end up with a loop (like below). Just cut open the loop so you have a flat-ish strip.

 

Step 2: Fold the strip, accordion style. The width of the first fold will be the width of the hearts! Make sure you are precise and crease the fold firmly. This will make cutting easier.

 

Step 3: Cut out the heart shape (I drew on first). Take care the the side edges of the heart spill over the folds on both sides. This will keep your hearts in a nice chain.

 

Step 4: Get some advil, because cutting through that many layers of thick paper can wear out your little hands! Now, stretch out your hearts for all to see!!

That's it! I love the rough and rustic look of them. I also tried making paper chain clouds, but it just looked funny. You can also try paper dolls, stars, diamonds, bunting flags, owls, letters, flowers... the possibilities are endless!

If you loved this brown paper bag craft, check out this one, too!

Thanks for reading and THANK-YOU BETH for letting me take over your blog for a day! Come back to us safe!

Be Made New,
Piper