How to Collage With What You Already Have at Home
Have you have ever sat down, wanting to create, and thought, “I don't have the right stuff yet.” While sometimes that's true, a lot of the time it could be a way to put off starting.
So, I decided to run a test to see if it’s possible to create with the things we typically have on hand by heading to my kitchen pantry. There is plenty of food packaging that will end up in the recycling anyway.
If you want the details about how I did this, check out the full video on my YouTube channel!
What I Found In My Own Trash
As it turns out, a pantry is basically an untapped stash of creative materials. I had a pasta box with an interesting illustration and a font worth cutting out. There were cans with labels I could peel and use for color. I’ve been on a sardine kick lately, and noticed even the details on the packaging of tinned fish can be inspiring.
But, what caught my eye today, was this box of tuna! The colorful, elaborate design caught my eye, so thats what I brought back to my worktable.
Start With Three
If you take nothing else from this, take this: collages don't need to be complicated. My best piece of advice is to start with three pieces of paper. Once you have those, you can decide if you want more. If you want to start with more go ahead! But three is the number is I usually tell people to start with.
Since the tuna box was so illustrated and is framed by text, I wanted it to be the focal point of the page. I was looking for papers that would blend with the box nicely without competing with it. I kept coming back to the colors tomato red, soft yellow, and blue.
I landed on this scrap of muted paper, a handmade paper with a lot of texture. But I wanted more, so I pulled out old envelopes and started “auditioning” them.
Auditioning, Not Deciding
Here is what I mean by auditioning: I tore pieces, laid them down and started experimenting. I tried different combinations and made marks where I wanted things to go. This is not a clean process by the way…prepare for a mess of papers!
Next, the glue. After I had my three pieces down, I could tell the page was missing something. There was a bare spot next to the wallpaper scrap that needed to be filled. I added a small metallic paper cutout of a woman's hand. Then, I stamped a single flourish design near it in ink.
Thats it. A tuna box, three papers, a stamp, and an embellishment. All from things already in my house.
Your Turn
So here's what I want you to do, go to wherever you have packaging piling up and look for something you'd never normally use: a produce sticker, a tea box, whatever you fancy. Then see if you can build something with it. It doesn't have to be extravagant, just made from what's already in reach.
If you’re interested in more challenges like this, sign up for the Vintage and Collage Club! And for updates on projects and more inspiration, sign up for my newsletter. I hope to see you there!