Happy Earth Day!

I don't usually do anything in particular to celebrate Earth Day, but I have been making small changes to my habits over the last few years to green my life. Things like using reusable shopping bags, reducing my consumer tendencies, and finding creative ways to reuse things. Like this bag. It's made from fused plastic shopping bags. Originally it was meant to be my lunch bag, but it has become an all-purpose almost purse for me because it holds everything from my water bottle to a book to keys to pens and small notebooks and of course, my iphone. I keep thinking I'll make more of these and put them on Etsy but I have been baking more than sewing lately. (Although with this heat wave that may be changing soon). 

Anyhow, I had a small pile of Amazon boxes and Dan had several more unwanted boxes. And rather than throw them out or send them to be recycled, I decided to reuse them. I saw this project from Design Sponge a few months ago and decided to give it a shot. My cats love the corrugated cardboard scratchers from Trader Joe's so why not? Honestly, I think my cats would have been happy if I had left the boxes intact. I mean, my cats love boxes.  
But I broke the boxes down and cut them into 5" strips.
  

Making sure to cut through the "honey comb" in the cardboard (not with it)...
  
Then I rolled it up, taped it. Rolled, taped. Rolled taped. And on and on. You really need to have a little OCD to work on a project like this. [ If I were to do it again, I would spread it across a few evenings rather than trying to get it all done in 1 sitting. ]
  
More after the jump >>