Fruit Bags – creating upcycle little friends.

Another thing I find hard to throw away are these guys – the lovely stretchy colourful plastic woven netting from bags of fruit. They are so pretty. Do they ever get recycled? Or do they end up in landfill?? Best to just keep hold of them and turn them into fun arty projects!

Project 1 – Squishy People

Oh boy – did my girls LOVE making these! We just stuffed the plastic netting with some stuffing (you can buy big bags of this from Spotlight), and then wove it closed with a pipecleaner.

They then just went to town adding in eyes, mouths, ears, hair, spikes. This was really easy to do – we worked with buttons, beads, feathers, cane, card, and some pipecleaners.  We just threaded and poked into the squishy foam stuffing. So easy!! It all stays together really well.

It is always great to have kids trying to work in 3D – it is a different way of thinking. You need to utilise those problem solving skills, and fine motor skills too. This project would suit kids from about 5ys +. I made a couple also, and found it hard to stop. SO MUCH FUN!!!

Here are a few of our little quirky squishy people……such funny little characters.

Project 2 – Wallhanging

These are a little bit more ‘sophisticated’ than our squishy people. We used cane to weave through the netting, and created some beautiful designs. Here are couple of examples. Because the netting is so stretchy and flexible, you could weave with coffee stirrers/ paddle pop sticks / knitting needles/ pencils/ paint brushes/ smooth found sticks – give it a go!!

These are definitely pieces I would hang up on my wall at home.

What do you think?

This is a material I will definitely revisit – surprisingly versatile, and so much fun. The colours/ texture/ durability.

Do you have any ideas as to what you can do with fruit bags?? We would love to see your ideas……..don’t forget to tag us, and share with us your projects.

I hope this idea will maybe make you look at bits of ‘rubbish’ a little differently.

Keep creatin’ folks.

Tracy x