The Iron Hack That Turns Plastic Bags Into Wall Decor Art

Distinctive art is important in any space. It's even better if it's eco-friendly and upcycled. The web is filled with cool tutorials on how to turn ordinary plastic bags into gorgeous DIY art and other useful objects. If you have a growing stash of shopping bags you would love to make something with, the process of fusing bags to make art may be easier to create than you think. With just an iron, parchment paper, and some plastic, you can create cool DIY works for your walls. 

For this DIY, you can  repurpose resealable plastic baggies, plastic packaging, shopping bags, and old plastic tablecloths. Not only is this approach a great way to reuse materials that may end up in a landfill forever, but these cool projects cost virtually nothing to create. Thermoplastics, of which most shopping sacks, takeout bags, trash liners, and bread bags are made, melt at relatively low temperatures, do not release any odor or chemicals as long as they are heated gradually and not too high, and are very easy to shape and work with. You can use them to draw or paint on, involve them as elements in mixed media creations, or even sew them together to create pouches and other decor pieces. Larger fused pieces are a great budget-friendly way to decorate a large and empty wall. 

To turn your plastic bags into art, begin by layering six to eight pieces of plastic together. Thinner stacks will heat faster, so larger ones may not allow the heat from the iron to penetrate all the way through each layer. Set your iron on lowest steam, but make sure there is no water in the iron. Place a sheet of parchment paper both under and over your layered plastic on a heat-resistant surface, then run the iron over the top with an even application over the entire surface. Flip it over to repeat on the other side, allowing the heat to fuse all layers together. As you work, smooth out any bubbles that may indicate the plastics are having trouble fusing. 

Once you have your plastic fused together, use it as a great surface for acrylic painting, drawing, or collaging as an alternative to paper or canvas. Or cut them into shapes to use with other materials. You can even fuse more pieces together for a 3D or larger scale piece of art or sew the bendable material patchwork-style. Just use a thick material setting, like faux leather, on your sewing machine or hand stitch the pieces. To add some color to plain bags, use a mix of rubbing alcohol and food coloring applied with a rag or sponge. While the color will go on looking more saturated, it will dry to a color wash when heated and dried. You may have to apply several coats to get more intense colors by layering washes and dyed pieces of plastic. Rubbing alcohol is also great for removing letters and print from the bags you use.