Grocery Bag Bunting And Sandcastle Flags

Seaside Tinkered Treasures

Posted by Ryland Peters & Small

About

Transform any mound of sand into a castle and any outdoor space into a carnival with flags and bunting made from grocery bags. Chances are you already have a vibrant collection of colored bags in a cupboard or hanging behind a door. Reusable and recyclable, solid or patterned, if they’re plastic or vinyl, they’re waterproof, so cut them up and bedeck your outside spaces!

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You Will Need (8 things)

  • 9 Plastic Bags
  • Baker’s Twine
  • Toothpick s or wood craft picks
  • Scissors
  • Craft Glue
  • Butterfly Clamps or clips
  • Construction Paper for template
  • Clothespins

Steps (4 steps, 60 minutes)

  1. 1

    Start by creating a template from a
    sturdy piece of paper. Fold it in half
    and crease well. Mark and cut a triangle
    shape with the fold as the bottom edge,
    so that when opened you should have a
    diamond shape to use as your template.
    Make a small diamond template for the
    sandcastle flags and a larger diamond
    template for the bunting (approximately
    4 in/10 cm high).

  2. 2

    Cut the sides of your plastic grocery
    bags to open them up and create
    larger pieces. Fold sections in half and
    crease well or use existing creases. Slip
    your template over the crease and trace
    with a pencil. Then cut out.

  3. 3

    For the bunting, cut as many
    diamonds as needed, lay them out
    flat and open and apply craft glue to the
    wrong side, making sure to cover the
    edges. Lay baker’s twine along the inner
    crease and close the diamond along the
    string, making sure the edges are lined
    up. You may need to hold pieces closed
    until the glue has set, either by
    weighting down with something heavy
    or securing with clothespins.

  4. 4

    For sandcastle flags, lay the small
    diamonds flat and apply glue as
    before. Slip a toothpick into the fold,
    positioning it toward the top. Close the
    diamond along the toothpick, press to
    smooth as needed, and allow to dry.

    TINKER TIPS
    Keep a supply of sandcastle flags in
    your beach bag so that you are
    always ready to festoon a fortress.
    The sharper your scissors, the
    easier it will be to cut up plastic
    grocery bags.

    FANCY THIS Make extra flags to
    pitch in sandwiches and turn a
    picnic into a party.