Recycling Things Found Around Your Home to Make Altered Art

Altered art is all about using things found around your home to make art. Many people spend a lot of money on expensive art supplies, and they simply overlook all the treasures they have right around their house. Here are some of the things I enjoying using that I have around my home. One if my favorite sayings is “Waste not, want not.”

You know how a lot of products you buy from the store have that clear plastic cellophane around them; this is a great tool when creating art. Big pieces can be used to cover pictures, and a mat board frame can be placed on top of the cellophane to protect and enhance your art. Cellophane can be painted, crumpled, or shredded and added to art to create depth or a see - through dimension.

Another useful and overlooked art supply is newspapers, cardboard, junk mail and books. These items can come in handy in many ways; they can be used as interesting backgrounds for scenes. These paper goods can also be used to cut words, letters, and quotes to make new poems, stories, or focal points for your art. These items also have fun and interesting pictures that can be used in collage, decoupage, and a variety of projects. The pages can be shaped and molded into multiple different items using a bit of glue and some scissors.

Wire is a big helper when creating altered art because it can be used to create flowers, fairy wands, trees, and anything else you can shape it into. Wire is also helpful because it can be attached to art so that your art can be hung on the wall. Wire can also make a stand for your art, or it can help you tie parts of your art together. Wire is often used as the base for creating clay sculptures and poseable dolls. You can also make unique jewelry by wire wrapping found objects like rocks, shells, and marbles.

Twist ties from bread and other packaged good are another fun art tool. Some come in pretty metallic colors, and some come in plain colors, but they can all help hold things together. These twist ties can also be tied into bows or used as flower stems.

I also enjoy using empty bottles in many projects. A soda bottle cut about a third of the way down, decorated with beads and painted gold makes a gorgeous display stand for sculptures. Plastic bottles can be made into flowers and vases. Bottle caps make unique jewelry and can be used as a circle stamp.

Sticks, pine cones, dried flowers, and leaves are also helpful items when creating altered art. Sticks can be used to make frames, or sticks can be used to simulate trees in landscape scenes. Pinecones can be used as miniature trees, and they can be painted depending on what season is being simulated. Dried flowers and leaves can be used as wings or clothes for little flower fairies. They can also be used to create texture and depth to a work of art.

Altered art is my favorite art because iit gets your hands dirty, and because you can use all sorts of everyday junk to produce it. I hope you find these items as useful and inspiring as I have, and remember have fun!