File this under Two Birds with One Stone.

Bird one: for my art classes, I needed a better table protecter than a thin plastic garbage bag.

Bird two: as much as I acknowledge Costco’s upsides, and despite their talk of moving to less plastic packaging, there is still too much. Last Wednesday inspiration struck.

Stone: washed, cut apart and taped together, all that “trash” can be turned into sturdy, portable, and reusable messy mats. Make them any size. Just keep taping together your cut packaging until you have a size to suit your project.

If you make one, send me a pic and how you’re using it.