Credit Vickie Howell
A big part of keeping your pet safe is making sure he wears a collar, whether it's your lab on his afternoon walk or your cat roaming your outside gardens--and making one from recycled materials, like this version from Craft, brings you one step closer to being an eco-friendly pet owner.
The genius behind this project? First, its simplicity: all you need are snaps, a D-ring, a poly plastic bag (like the kind sheets and pillowcases come in), and a piece of paper; and second, the reuse options: not only are you finding a new use for that pillowcase plastic, but the empty bag used in this tutorial once held food for this future collar-wearing pet. To make the collar, measure your pet's neck and add four inches; then cut strips out of the poly packaging and empty bag that are two inches wide by the measurement you came up with in the first step. Sew the pieces together so that you have a plastic strip, and add snaps (if you want it to be adjustable, add a few snaps). The D-ring slides on to hold your pet's nametags, complete with your name and contact info.
If you don't have a pet food bag handy--or if you'd rather make a more exciting collar--try wrapping the poly bag around any piece of paper (wallpaper, wrapping paper, or a piece your kids doodled on would all work) or even a thin fabric to make any of these raw materials sturdy enough for whatever your pet dishes out.
