Archive for January, 2008

Is It Art or Is It Trash?

Thursday, January 31st, 2008 by Alyice

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Have you ever wondered what happens to all that trash you throw out? It ends up in landfills and becomes toxic waste. And although our country has improved in its efforts to recycle there is still so much more we can do. That’s why I applaud artists who take materials that would ordinarily fill up our landfills and turn them into art that can be displayed in our homes or used for another purpose, like jewelry, furniture, and landscaping.

Today found art, also known as “trash art” or “junk art”, is making a comeback and I couldn’t be more thrilled because that means publishers will be publishing books on found art techniques and consumers will be more willing to purchase these one-of-a-kind creations.

Speaking of books, I just received Junk To Jewelry by Brenda Schweder and can’t wait to try my hand at the watch ribbon bracelet on page 30 (my daughter has a busted watch that was once her deceased Nana’s and she wears it!), the drawer pull charm bracelet on page 28, or the junk drawer miscellany watch on page 44. They are by far my three favorite jewelry pieces in the entire book.

Junk To Jewelry is a rare combination of childhood craft ideas and eccentric trash art. In 96 pages you will discover 31 projects. Each project is given one page for instructions and a materials list and one page for a close-up of the completed piece. There are also two pages of information designed to help newbies understand things like knots, crimps, looping, swings, and how to use pliers and beading wire.

I do wish, however, that there would have been instructions for some of the pieces in the gallery section. I guess I’ll just have to do a little trial and error creating because I really want to make one of the yard stick bracelet by Susan Dyer on page 88 and the tea ball necklace by Carla Sikorski on page 90 (which reminds me of my Russian ancestry).

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Embellishments For Scrapping and Wall Art

Saturday, January 26th, 2008 by Alyice

After a year of dedicated scrapbooking in the fastest, easiest cut and paste methods available, I am venturing out into something a little more creative—which means I get to read lots of scrapbooking magazines and books.

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A few months back, I received a copy of Easy Scrapbook Embellishment by Heidi Schueller, to review. I had planned on reviewing it ASAP but it got packed away with many other things due to a projected “move” and I forgot about it. Long story short, the house we wanted to buy fell through—major plumbing and electrical issues and a bad chimney—and I just wasn’t ready to admit defeat so boxes of things stayed packed.

Imagine my delight when I opened up a box to re-discover Easy Scrapbook Embellishments. I have to tell you that I really love this book, and if you love scrapbooking, you will too! It’s so easy to read and so easy to implement the tips.

There are several projects within the book, but each project only focuses on one embellishment technique. There’s a large photo of a scrapbook page, followed by a “what you need section” that gives a complete list of what was used to make that particular scrapbook page. Then there are step-by-step instructions for making a specific embellishment on the following page. And since I am pursuing a side business in mixed media art, I find that several of these techniques will transfer over quite nicely!

You learn to knot hemp cord, bead spirals, design letters out of French knots and beads, make a stitching template, add photos to small charms, use rolled patterned paper to frame photos, use positive and negative chipboard letters, use microbeads to accent pages in small but powerful ways, and so much more! There’s 65 scrapbook layouts in all, with 15 bonus tips to take the technique from scrapbook to art project.

As far as scrapbooking goes, I love that the embellishments won’t weigh down the paper too much, or interfere with putting the pages into plastic sleeves for added protection. As for the mixed media aspect, these quick and easy tips sure did give me a few great ideas for a few wall art projects I am working on for relatives!

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The Friend Collage

Monday, January 21st, 2008 by Alyice

Last December I made it my New Year’s Resolution to make time for arts and crafts, and I can honestly say I’ve been able to do just that. I’ve read magazines and books, I’ve watched videos and online tutorials and I’ve dabbled in a few projects, like this collage:

I also learned a valuable lesson: I do not like the look of Modge Podge glossy over a painted collage. In some areas, the Modge Podge dried and left a glue-like appearance which meant repainting the collage with dyes. It’s not a bad fix, but I must admit that I really loved the original pink undertone and it went better with the swirly pink design ribbon I used for the sides.

There are also a few things I would do differently if I were making the same collage. I would have been more careful with the cropping of my friend, Tina, so that part of her head didn’t get cut off when I added texture. I would have also purchased two copies of the photo so that I could raise the photo, like I did with the butterfly. I really think the raised butterfly adds to the collage. And I would have remembered to fasten the hardware for hanging before I actually began the collage.

Other than that, I am really pleased with the work.

If you like this style of combining photos with art and objects, drop me an email or visit my online shop at AlyiceEdrich.net. I’d love to custom create something for you!

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