Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Reimagine, Redesign

One of the things that inspires me most when arting and crafting is reuse. I truly believe that there is just so much beauty in so many things that we all tend to ignore.

Having said that, I do also believe that reusing items is going to help us (and the planet) in the long run. In the past there were three main priorities when it came to helping the environment. I think there are two new priorities that will be more helpful when added to the previous 3 R's.

What do you throw away a lot? Is there a certain product you use that has a lot of packaging that gets thrown away? What about prescription bottles? If nothing else, we all have plastic bags and plastic containers that out food comes in. We always have too much plastic!

I challenge you to think of ways that you can reuse items that you frequently throw out or get rid of. It's as simple as reusing old containers instead of buying new ones when you need to store items for your crafting, for your desk, or even for art at your children's school. Ask an elementary school art teacher - I bet they can use a lot of products that we throw away - magazines, paper towel tubes, cardboard, plastic bottles, glass jars from food, tin cans, egg cartons, etc etc etc.


Magazine Coasters

I have a tendency to hold on to my old magazines. Maybe it's my background in print media, but I just don't usually have the heart to throw them away. So instead I made coasters!

Supplies needed:

• Old magazine
• Glue

Optional: 

• Sealer, like mod podge or even white school glue (non washable kind).

Fold magazines into straight strips, approximately ¼ to ½ inch wide. The strips will be think. Start to roll it, gluing it as you go. When you reach the end of the strip, start with another, gluing it on. Keep going to desired size. You can use this to make coasters, place mats, wall art or the bottom of magazine/newspaper baskets.

There are just so many ways to reuse things!

As an activity, give your elementary school child or student a "project" of sorts. Ask them to come up with ways to reuse items for every letter. You never know, they might be able to come up with items for those hard letters! How wonderful it would be to get the next generation starting to think about our planet before they even understand that they need to. If it is something they grow up doing, it will become a way of life.

If you have ideas, feel free to share! I'd be happy to repost and give you credit for your ways to reuse common items!

Here are some creative ways to reuse everyday items that came from a little bit of brainstorming:

• Turn your old plastic soda bottle into a spray bottle
• Toilet paper roll fire starter (fill with dried leaves, wrap in newspaper, twist ends)
• Cut soda bottle in half and make a container for crafts (or anything)
• Plastic soda bottle plant waterer - Remove the cap and the bottom of the bottle. Turn the bottle upside down, and set the spout into the ground or pot. Fill with water and this will allow your plants to be watered when you are going to be away for a few days.
• Tin foil Christmas tree garland
• Tin foil wrapping paper
• Wire hanger Christmas ornaments. Using wire cutters and pliers, bend and shape wire into a variety of shapes to hang on your tree. Decorate with glitter, ribbon, fabric, etc.
• Wire hanger into a marshmallow/hotdog roasting stick
• Egg carton golf ball storage
• Egg carton bead sorter
• Egg carton plant/seed starter
• Styrofoam egg carton paint palette
• Break up egg cartons, preferably Styrofoam ones, and use it as packing material when shipping.
• Old hose blade guard - Slit a section of hose and slip it over the blade of an ax or saw when not in use.
• Use newspaper for a glass cleaner - After you wash your windows or mirrors with soap and water or regular glass cleaner, polish the glass with a piece of crumpled newspaper for a streak-free shine.
• Cut magazines into long triangular pieces. Roll them (starting with the large end) into beads.
• Magazine Coasters or round place mats. Fold magazines into straight strips, approximately ¼ to ½ inch wide. The strips will be think. Start to roll it, gluing it as you go. When you reach the end of the strip, start with another, gluing it on. Keep going to desired size.
• Rolled Magazine basket. Roll magazine pages diagonally into tubes. Connect one end to another and roll into a basket shape.
• Collage furniture. Perfect for teens! Cut out images from magazines that are appealing to you. Use an old piece of furniture (night stand, bookshelf, small dresser, end table are suggested). Attach images, with overlap. If desired, coat finished piece in a clear gloss.
• Candle holders out of baby food jars – just add ribbon around the outside.
• Work bench storage out of baby food jars. Nail several jar lids onto a 2x4. Nail the 2x4 to the bottom of a shelf over your craft bench. Fill the jars with nails, pins, bitty things you have lying around and screw them onto their lids.
• Make a picture mat out of leftover wallpaper.
• Use extra wallpaper to make envelopes.
• Make place mats that match your walls by pasting two pieces of wallpaper together (to make it 2 sided.) Laminate if desired.
• Cover boring gift boxes with wallpaper for a designer look.
• Use old keyboard keys to make the numbers for a clock
• Keyboard keys can be used as mosaic pieces on a photo frame.
• Make a bowl from an old Record.  (This is actually easier that you might think)
• Turn a tank top into a tote bag.
• T-shirt quilt. Take t-shirts with designs on them and cut equal sized squares out of them. 
• Cut the toes out of old socks to make baby leg warmers.
• Make a cork board from wine corks. 
• Turn an old beat up cookie tray into a message board with just a little bit of paint. Use magnets with it.
• Revitalize a set of retro dishes by adding designs with a ceramic pen. 
• Mosaic flowerpots with old dishes.
• Use a chopstick wrapper for a bookmark.
• Tea bags for fertilizer. Tea bags do wonders for the garden. They enrich the soil by increasing nitrogen levels, and also give earthworms (fertilizers) something yummy to eat.
• Changing you bathroom décor? Save your old shower curtain for a drop cloth for painting or crafts. Especially great for kids!
• Use a tire as a planter in your yard
• With a little paint, turn an old wooden ladder into a decorative plant stand. This is especially good for climbing plants! You don't even necessarily have to paint it - a weathered look is always fun!
• Use a tennis ball to cushion the blow of a hammer. Cut an X in a tennis ball and slip it over the head of a hammer so you don’t ding up walls, wood, or other fragile materials while you’re pounding away.
• Reuse bits of old jewelry combined with new elements to make something awesome! Old watch parts are super in style right now.

It's melting... Melting!!

Want a colorful, fun project to do that always seems to come out awesome? I've got just the thing for you. This would be great to do with a kid. But it is important that an adult assists.

Materials needed:

• Canvas in the size of your choosing
• Crayons (I recommend Crayola, but pretty much all crayons will work)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Hair Dryer
• Drop cloth / newspaper

Optional supplies:

• Paint
• Stickers

First thing is first, you need to pick out what size you want to make your wall art. You really don't need anything special in terms of canvas. I would probably suggest a standard or "value" canvas that you can pick up at any craft store. You can even pick out multiple canvases and make it all connect in some way.

You don't need to do anything to the canvas to get it ready. However, if you want a different color background (say black) all you have to do is paint it black. Do let it dry completely before attaching anything to it.

I opened my pack of crayons and started to arrange them in the color order that I decided on. You can do a rainbow as I did, you can randomly use crayons or just use certain colors. I lined the crayons up and made sure the colors were exactly as I wanted.

The next step is to use your hot glue gun (parent's job) to attach the crayons in a row along one side of the canvas. You don't want space between the crayons, so glue them one right next to the other. You can choose to leave the wrappers on or take them off. With Crayola crayons, I have seen some people line up all of the logos facing out. I decided to do it  little more random. Plus, I wanted to see some of the color names.

Once your crayons are all glued down in a line the fun part comes. Now it gets hot!

(Disclaimer : Although this seems obvious, please be careful. The crayons are very hot when they are dripping. Please use caution, especially with children.)

Stand your Canvas vertically, actually, I suggest a slight tilt so that it isn't totally vertical. It's important to have a drop cloth not only below it, but behind it if you are doing it up against a wall. The wax will not only drip down, but will go wherever it wants, including the wall behind the canvas.

Take a hair dryer and slowly move back and forth on the top of the piece. This may take a bit of time, depending on a variety of factors. Don't be discouraged that it isn't immediate. When it starts, it happens slowly. As it does, you will want to stay focused on one area at a time allowing the drips to grow larger. If your drips don't continue to flow downward you can always take the hair dryer to the location where the crayon is gathering and blow dry it down from there. I recommend not moving the airflow back and forth fast after it starts dripping unless you want sideways motion in your drips. If you look closely at my picture below you can tell that there was some sideways motion (which is what I wanted). If you want to avoid that, I also recommend a lower setting on the hair dryer. It takes longer, but drips more steadily.

Here I painted my canvas prior to attaching crayons. I also chose crayons I thought would look neat on the darker background. I picked the "reject" crayons from the rainbow I made. Browns, whites, grays, silver etc. I also used some of the colors that I just didn't have room for. I also decided to make it a set. I used two 11x14 canvases.

I have seen some neat pieces where stickers were attached to the canvas before the melting occurred. Then after the crayons were melted they removed the stickers to reveal an un-crayoned area. Think about using letters to make a quote or a child's name. Some people also use drawings and other media to enhance their artwork. [ <-- Click on link to view items on etsy].


I love my crayon drip pieces! They are such fun.
As always, let me know if you have any questions. I would be glad to help!

The Finished Product

Well here it is! My awesome new book shelves with a vintage twist.

This is a close up of the finished back before I put all of the shelves on.

Here we have a close up with the shelves on.

And a full view! 

I used a gloss Mod Podge, but there is also a matte finish. I just happened to have extra around so I used it.

Stay tuned for more fun topics:

• Dripping crayon canvas wall art

• Room divider made from scratch

• Paint your own ceramics studio

• A resale arts and crafts business in St. Louis

• Re-crafting with used crayons

• Etsy - what it is, how to use it and why it's important

• An online live auction site for arts, crafts and other fun finds

Happy Crafting!

Dictionary page book shelves

I recently decided to add some storage to my craft room. I had two things that needed to work - the correct size and storage capacity and I wanted it to be cheap. I thought about getting something used. But I wasn't finding the right size. So I chose some bookshelves made of mdf that you can get pretty much anywhere.

Like most of these shelving units, the is no real back to them. There is a piece of cardboard with a printed on wood grain. Personally, I find that tacky. So, as I'm putting together the shelving unit I was trying to think of something to cover that with. I originally thought about wallpaper or maybe wrapping paper. But then I looked around my craft room and came up with a fun idea. I was going to make a collage of sorts with old dictionary pages.

Keep in mind that this project can easily be done on furniture that you find at a thrift store or even pieces you already have in your house. You can add a back panel using cardboard. Make sure whatever material you use will be sturdy enough for your use. You can also attach pieces to furniture that you already have using the same process. When you Mod Podge the entire piece you will have a functional item.


To make this project:

• Old book pages, maps, newspaper, or other paper ephemera
• clear tape, tacky glue or hot glue gun
• Mod Podge
• Paint brush or foam brush 

I spread out the piece of cardboard. I chose to use the back side, not the one with the wood grain printed on just in case I ever wanted to use that side of it.

I started by placing one dictionary page randomly onto the board and taped down one corner. (You can also use a hot glue gun or tacky glue if you prefer.) Mod Podge is also a good choice for sticking the papers down.

I continued on by overlapping more and more pages making sure that the tape I was using did not show.

Instead of wasting, I decided to remove the extra parts of paper that were hanging off the board. I then found places (like the one pictured) that needed just a small piece. Doing that I did not use more than I needed to, saving my supplies for my next project.

I slid the small piece under the other pages so that you couldn't tell it was just a scrap.


When I was finished attaching the pages to my back panel, it looked like this:

To reinforce, I took tacky glue and glued down any pages that were still loose.

Next I cut off the excess paper that was hanging off the edges.

As I didn't want the pages to tear off I decided to finish it with Mod Podge. There are various kinds you can use (matte, gloss, glitter, etc). I had a bottle of gloss nearby, so that's what I went with.





I used the box my shelves came in as a drop cloth and a foam sponge brush to apply the Mod Podge.

Mod Podge is pretty darn easy to use. It's as easy as painting it on over the items. You can do it evenly to make a smooth surface, or stroke it on randomly to create a textured look as I did. You can also put on a second coat for extra protection. Many projects you use Mod Podge on will need a second coat. You can use your judgement.

It's important to let the Mod Podge dry fully. I suggest giving it 24 hours before you attach or use the piece.

Next, you follow the instructions from the furniture to attach the back panels and you have yourself one unique shelving unit.


As I am allowing mine to dry currently, I will update you with a photo later. I'm super excited to see how it turns out!



Until next time, happy crafting!

Welcome!

"Creativity is making mistakes. 

Art is knowing which ones to keep"

- Scott Adams (creator of the comic strip Dilbert)

I truly believe that the secret of a happy life is through creativity. And that belief is both the basis of my blog and my life.

I was born in San Jose, California. I moved around the country quite a bit growing up. I got to see a lot of things, many of which are inspirations for my art. I have a sister who is 5 years younger than me. She, too, got bitten by the same creative bug that I did. My mom's side of the family has always been very artistic. She instilled this in us as we were growing up. Arts and crafts were a big part of growing up. Whether it was at our house, school, girl scouts, or visiting grandma's. I cannot even begin to tell you all of the things we have creatively experimented with.

My mother passed away from breast cancer after a nearly 10 year battle 9 years ago. I wish I had more time with her, but I am thankful for the wonderful things she instilled in us.

Recycled art has been growing as an interest of mine for the past 5 years. I find so much beauty in the unwanted, the unneeded and old items. I love making new pieces using old elements. Some of my current favorites are dictionary pages, buttons, vintage costume jewelry, vintage fabric, printed items, and more.

I went to college and studied Journalism. But I truly fell in love with page design. After working in newspaper for years, I started and opened my own business, a paint-your-own ceramics studio called The Blue Beagle. I truly loved the business and it was very successful. But, personal life got in the way, and I was forced to sell it after three years in business due to divorce.

I relocated to St. Louis and began working on my art. I started focusing on digital art and opened my creative business, Paisley Impressions, where I primarily sell online, but also at art fairs.

And from all these experiences (and the many others that I have yet to tell you) comes this blog. I will be giving your ideas, tips and even local (St. Louis) places for art lovers to check out. Join me as I will post weekly on Tuesdays (and hopefully more often down the line).

Feel free to ask questions, send requests or just send me comments.

Until next time, embrace the crazy little thing called art!