LuggageTags

Please tell me you can relate.  You're all excited, luggage packed, suitcase weighed and on the aeroplane.  After a long but reasonably pleasant flight you get to your destination just to be hoarded with the rest of the nameless individuals on your flight to the carousel where you await your luggage.  There it starts, luggage coming through the tiny little door and you wonder, "My suitcase is black? or is it really a navy blue?" Three people make a beeline for the only red case on the carousel and awkwardly fall over each other trying to figure who's case it is. Inconspicuously people try checking the tiny tags to see if this case they selected is really theirs and then shyly pop it back onto the rotating floor. If you hesitate too long trying to make up your mind if it's yours or not zoom it swishes by and you have to wait for it to come by again. Well no more.  I decided this trip is going to be different.  So I applied some green crafting, recycled a bit and had a lot of fun turning  shopping bags into gorgeously bright luggage tags.  I made matching hand luggage tags just in case my brain is so numbed from the hours of travelling that I forget that the happy smiley faces belongs to me.  If it happens to cheer my fellow travellers in the process it will be a great bonus.

I've tried my hand at a mini tutorial I hope you find it helpful.

The smiley faces comes from a shopping bag. You can cut out any motive or word that you like and use that.




Take standard shopping bag, cut off handles and slit bottom open


 
Fold bag in half and then half again (8 thin layers)




Layer your folded shopping bag image and see thru plastic.

 I found that dark ink smudges so I use a thin layer of clear plastic (from the veggie isle) over dark colours otherwise it tends to stick to your  brown paper.

Applying the heat is not an exact science and takes a bit of practise, test the heat on different plastic thicknesses. Sandwich your plastic between two layers of paper (newspaper can come off on your plastic specially working with white)
Remember to work in a well ventilated room and keep little people away from the hot iron.  Always be careful when you touch the plastic you've just melted it, it's going to be hot.





After the initial melting together I cut the excess thin plastic off
Iron both sides of your plastic till your happy with the result.



 

As you practise you'll get the results your looking for.





I cut a template, traced and cut round my tags.



 

I cut a template and traced round my tags.




 

Some eyelets (these from the scrapbooking section) gives it a nice sturdy hole.






I decided to tie it to my suitcase with a cable tie.



There you go ready for the journey.

Have a Crafty Week
xXx