Second Thursday tutorial: So you have no art supplies

We all wish we could own the most recent art supplies, but unless we are on a design team that provides the latest supplies, or we are creating art for artists who supply us with their products, we can't possibly afford every new and great product or tool that comes out.

It is in that vein that today I thought I would create a mixed media spread using only items that were destined for the trash or recycle bin.  These are items others would throw away, but frugal me often goes through my friends' recycle bin or trash can looking for ways to keep something alive. It also shows what you can create if you have absolutely no art supplies.

Materials might possibly include:
Old book to alter (see my right sidebar for how to choose a book to alter and other free lessons)
Old book pages
Bandages
Eye shadow
Eyeliner pencils
Tickets
Tea
Tea bags
Tea bag tags
Crayons (mine would have gone in the trash, only I saved them and threw their containers away after the basement flood)
Light bulb container
Old packaging
Postage stamps
Clothing tags
Clothing labels
Thread
Tape (various, but not washi)
Bubble wrap
Corrugated cardboard 
Toilet paper holder
Punchinella
Newspaper pages
Telephone directory pages
Strips off old daisy wheel printer paper
Calendar pages
Orphaned puzzle pieces
Orphaned playing cards

I don't guarantee I will use all these supplies, but they are certainly possibilities for you to consider.

Now that you have an alterable book, let's begin.

Paper, paper, paper, including wallpaper samples.

A word about glue is in order.  Now I have lots of glue, but decided to use the cheapest possible white PVA (polyvinyl) glue you can buy.  This came from a store called "Dollar Tree" in the U.S.  You get two of these for $1.00.  I'm sure the pound stores in the UK and similar stores in other countries have the same deals.

Right off the bat, I boxed myself into a corner by covering the words on the right side with a sheet of wallpaper.  Not only that, the wallpaper was vinyl and glue definitely didn't want to stick.  For the left side, I placed strips of various papers lengthwise, to break up the words on the page.

The right side sports part of a map (the same one I used before this month) and a portion of vintage sheet music.

The left side has bits torn from dictionary pages, a telephone book, a German book, and a novel.

I decided it was time for a bit of color, so I brewed some hibiscus tea.

While the tea was brewing, I got out a few goodies for the next layer.

Two types of masking tape, one of which is low tack, surgical tape, and a stapler sit on the right side.

Various goodies that will add a bit of color to the pages sit on the left side.

I'm in the process of stapling a tea bag tag to the right side of the page.

I also added bits of tape to the right side, along with three tickets and a music flash card.  I outlined the flash card with masking tape, as I did the sheet music and map.  It held them better since the wallpaper didn't want to cooperate.

For the left side, I added two teabag tags, three tickets, a lobster from an ad, part of a chopstick holder, and part of a paint chip sample.

Next, it was time for a bit more color and shading.  These are all eyeliner pencils I was given by my foodie friend Sally.  Yes, I really DO use these tampons to distribute color.

Eyeshadow and blush will hopefully bring out all the color I'm looking for.  Again, my friend was throwing them away because they were out of date.

While I was at it, I have several spools of thread I never use.  The white/pink at the top is too thick for my machine and I have to hand wind it onto a bobbin only.  The metallic copper breaks as soon as I start sewing with it.  I hope they will also add a bit of color to the pages.

I was wanting color and I certainly got it. 

I liked how different elements picked up the eye shadows and blushes differently.  I want to make it clear, that these are NOT creamy like lipstick, which I will NOT use in my art.  Only powders were used.

Even though I used the same eye shadow around the edge of this page,

I felt it wasn't dark enough for my taste.

That's when I remembered I still had my hibiscus tea.  By now, it had brewed quite well.

Oh goodness, this is a disaster.  Not at all what I had planned.

I quickly grabbed a piece of old bed sheet and mopped up the worst of the mess.

That's when I got sidetracked and decided to die more fabric and a bit of lace.

Once I got the lace and fabric in that small disposable cup,

it was time to bring out more goodies.  Yes, these are Crayola brand and I love them.  They are truly the best crayons in the entire world.

I hate it when the PO marks through postage stamps, but somehow this seemed a bit appropriate for this spread.

I was now much happier with the final pages.

I thought the lobster stuck out too much, so I tried to soften it with a bit of color.

I also added a bit of color

along the outside of the left side.

The sentiment?  Yours.  Truly.  was held together with two copper staples.

I am so grateful you stuck with me through this very long tutorial.  Because the only items I used were those that most people would consider trash or recyclable, I am also joining Alison/Craftytrog, our host this month at Art Journal Journey with her recycle and collage theme, as well as my friends at Try it on Tuesday where their theme this fortnight is Recycle Something.  Thank you again for joining me for this Second Thursday tutorial, and hope to see you at Art Journal Journey and Try it on Tuesday.   Once this goes live, you will be able to access it anytime on my Tutorials page.

 This is Day 12 of 22 and I recycled numerous items one would normally throw in the trash or recycle bin and showed you how to create an altered book spread for very little cash.