Recycled Bucket Tote (Lined Tote on Page 3)

[karentopaz]

One of my co-workers asked me if I had any use for the plastic coffee containers that we've accumulated over the past few months.  It seemed a shame to throw them away so I decided to bring a couple of them home and this is what I came up with:
  This is a Folger's 52 oz. coffee container.

  These are some foundation pieced crazy quilt blocks that I made using necktie scraps from other projects.

  I measured the bottom of the coffee container and the circumference to determine the size of the tote bag.

The brown/turquoise linen drawstring top is made from leftover scraps from a skirt that I made about 3 years ago.

  Finally, I added a strap out of the brown/turquoise linen.

I really like the way the tote turned out.  Please let me know what you think.

[zatanna]

Awesome! I have lots of those laying around, too....just seems like a shame to toss them and just stashing random junk in them seems to cause more hoarding of junk.  This is a cool way to use them that I would have never thought of.

[prunes28]

What a good idea!
Makes me wanna start drinking coffee just to have a bucket hehe
Good job!

[TheWorldFamous]

Sweet!  That's an awesome idea.

[WildeHeart2105]

That is a fantastic idea!! I LOVE the fabric you used - I also have a ton of these around and thought I could just used them to store small bits for crafting, but their a little to big for that. I'll have to try this sometime!

[cocoroe]

What a great idea... love it !

[Eliea]

love it! The colors are so nice and I really like this use of those containers. I've got a bunch of them saved and this is a great idea for a bag.

[jennieingram]

This is a beautiful project, not to mention an awesome recycling opportunity.  I've been slowly accumulating scraps to try my hand at crazy quilting.  (I was taught to quilt at the age of 6, by a mother who insisted that right angles/square blocks were the *ONLY* way to go, so as much as I'm in love with antique crazy quilting, I'm afraid I'll fail miserably at it.)  Working as a costume designer, I've ended up with not only pieces left over of actual costumes, but also bags and bags of swatches gathered from fabric stores while planning my designs; silks, brocades, velvets, embroidered linens, etc, that are just begging to be turned into a crazy quilt....  Maybe if I try a smaller project instead of a full sized quilt, I'll be less daunted. 
THANKS FOR THE INSPIRATION DEAR!

[nofury]

Brilliant! You saved something from the landfill and made something beautiful and functional. It looks very professional. Well done!

[HSG]

Like everything about this project!

The recycle, the colors, the usefulness, the end result...Rockin'!