D.I.Y. traveller

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on the Christmas ornaments. I was happy with how they turned out, and the reactions I've been getting, especially as I charged into the project without being terribly confident about my embroidery skills. I'm certainly going to make some more soon.

This week I went to Sydney for a conference. I'm usually a fairly efficient packer but I was still in a bit of a daze from a busy bauble-making weekend. So the night before was a bit scattered. While wandering from room to room trying to figure out which clothes to take, I managed to put together my recycled luggage tag. I used a clear plastic piece cut from a dishwashing liquid bottle, and a patterned plastic piece that came with some hairclips. It didn't take too long - the most time-consuming part was punching holes around the edges with an awl. A hole punch would have been quicker, but mine was not strong enough to go through the plastic.

The really cute luggage tag my sister gave me broke a few trips ago, and in the time that I've been thinking about making this I've seen several that I could have bought at clearance prices. So making this didn't really save more than a dollar or two. But it was satisfying to make something from materials that were destined for landfill or the recycling bin (I'm not sure the hairclip piece was even recyclable). It may not last quite as long as a good quality commercial one, but it won't be hard to make another one. It survived this trip unscathed, anyway, which is a good start.