Junk mail typography collage art

I made this awesome re-arranged typography wall art with two junk mail postcard sale mailers. This is what you need to make this junk mail wall art plaque! This tutorial will showcase each step I took to complete this art piece.

Materials:

- Substrate of your choice: cradle board, canvas board, illustration board, plywood or wood

- Cardstock

- Cutting tools

- Ruler

- Mod Podge tools: Brayer and Squeegee

- 1″ SQUARE shape paper punch

- 2 Crate and Barrel postcard mailers

- Any Mod Podge, I used Mod Podge Paper and Mod Podge Gloss

1. Cut 25 pieces (1″ squares) of the red and white section only.

2. TIP: I taped a piece of cardstock to my cutting mat. This type of mat has measurements printed on it, so it is easy to make accurate lines (see photo). I made two straight lines: one vertical and one horizontal; this made my layout easy to place . . . I knew I needed 5 rows of 1″ squares across since I was working with a 5″ x 5″ block. I used Mod Podge Paper to mount the squares in place . . . then let dry for 15 minutes. Then, I cut the mounted pieces at 5″ x 5″.

3. Decoupage the FRONT with the re-arranged 1″ square blocks. *TIP: I used a brayer that had some dried Mod Podge from previous projects, because when I run it over the paper it will give it a aged, rustic look and scuff it up. If you don’t want that look, use a clean brayer. Next, I decoupaged the back with a random piece of printed cardstock.

4. I decoupaged the sides with 3/4″ white cardstock.

5. Attach hanging hardware to the back. TIP: I find for something small like this a triangle hanger is easiest! All, you do is find the center, mark it with an AWL, then insert a screw. . . Then I attached two bumpers to the bottom.

Project completed! Ready to hang. Wouldn’t it be fun to try this on a huge scale?

Use paper scraps to make wall art

Something that every paper crafter has after a completed project is a pile of scraps. I'm no different and let me tell you my pile of scraps can get quite out of hand! To put it to good use, this solution is really simple, uses up a lot of scraps and can be made leisurely over a long period of time.

Materials:

- Scraps of card stock paper

- Scissors

- Glue

- Canvas

- Pencil

Steps

1. Lightly draw a spiral that starts a little off center and gradually expands throughout the canvas. Don't worry about making the spaces between each spiral even. Just gently move your arm around and around and it will come naturally. If you feel you need it, practice on a scrap piece of cardboard or on the back of the canvas.

2. Cut out scraps of paper in the shape of a leaf that has a flat end (my scraps where about 1" (2.5cm) wide and varied in length. Fold 1/4" (6mm) of the flat end over to form a tab. Cut off the corners of the tab as seen in the scrap on the right hand side in the photo below.

TIP! Don't cut all your scraps at the same time and at the same length or width. Variety makes this more interesting. The spacing in the spiral may vary in different sections so cut your pieces as you decide where to place them. I made sure that my "leaf" shapes where at least 1-2" (2.5-5cm) past the line of the following spiral mark. Remember these are just scraps so if you cut one that is too short or too long, it's not a big deal.

3. Glue the scraps to the canvas by lining up the edge of the folded tab over the pencil markings of the spiral. Make sure that you cover the pencil markings as you add paper to the canvas.

4. Continue until you feel you're done or until all the pencil marking are covered. I decided to stop where I did because I felt like I didn't need to fill the entire canvas (although that was my initial thought).

To finish off the piece I thought of erasing the pencil markings. It didn't work. The small part that I tried got smugded and looked awful. The drawn spiral now seems like part of the piece and I feel like it'd be missing something if I got rid of it.

TIPS!

- Take your time

You probably won't have time to do this in one shot. Place a basket in front of your canvas with scissors, some scraps and a small bottle of glue and add pieces whenever you have a few minutes. It doesn't have to be a one afternoon project—it really can be something that evolves over time. For the curious—my piece was made over a couple of days at a crazy pace. I only did that because I was on a deadline, otherwise I would've taken my time with it.

- Spread out your favorite pieces of paper

If you are doing a multi-color or multi-pattern version of this make sure to spread out the scraps of one sheet of paper throughout the piece. It'll give the piece a bit more balance. It helped me to squint to see where I was missing paper of a certain color.

- Make tiny versions of this to place inside of shadow box frames or for the front of an abstract card.

- Use only one color of paper in different shades for a monochromatic look.

- Make your cut out shapes with a rounded tip (like petals) for a softer look.

Source: http://alittlehut.blogspot.ca

Shelves made with paint bucket

Clean and remove label of the bucket, cut the top part (using a saw or an electric saw...be careful).

Paint the outside with a paint for plastic.

Make two holes for the screw and strengthen the back with a piece of wood.

Fix in the wall with with screws and plugs.