The other day my new purse showed up and as much as the beautiful wrapping is sweet there’s nothing more telling that I bought a ton of stuff than a big pile of tissue mongrammed with a brand’s name.
So the guys and I got to work on a ‘craft’. We got rid of the shopping evidence shredded the tissue paper into teeny pieces and dumped it in a big bucket.
We poured in some warm water to make a soupy mess.
Then we blended it until it became soft and pulpy. (Ps this is that egg beater I got from oxo. I can bet they didn’t think I’d be using it like this and neither did I! But it’s so easy for the guys to use and I love that it’s not electric.)
We strained a couple cup-fulls of the gooey paper pulp through a sieve and dumped it onto a plate. We used a silicone muffin tin to press out the water. (I thought the guys might like to use a ‘tool’ and this one looked cool.)
After that we pressed the mush into cookie cutters until they dried. It took about a day out in the sun.
I may poke holes in the top for mother’s day ornaments. And we’ll probably coat them in glitter too.
So really, I didn’t technically buy a purse. I bought craft supplies for an activity and the purse came with. (And lucky for me, the guys want to make this one again.)
(PS. FYI it may just be a personal preference thing, but apparently this kind of craft is best made while wearing a shark costume.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)