How to Collect Unusual Art Supplies

I'm always in "don't throw that away" mode when it comes to how this household is run. You never know what can be used for a piece of art or an art project that can be completed with your kids! Here's how I drive my family nuts . . .

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• recycled items from your household
• a small box or plastic tote

1. Don't throw away empty yogurt cups, pudding cups and applesauce cups: they're great for squeezing adhesives and paints into. We also use them to hold water for washing off brushes.
2. Don't throw away brown paper bags: the make very sturdy handmade book covers, canvases, scrapbook backgrounds, greeting card bases and ATC blanks. They're also handy for collage item storage.
3. Don't throw away junk mail, magazines or old calendars: these items will stock your collage goody selection, as well as provide unique bases for handmade book pages, greeting card backgrounds, ATCs and other altered art projects.
4. Don't throw away pasta boxes (especially ones with windows to show what kind of pasta it contains - that's a book cover waitint to be made!), glass jars (brush or pencil holders), or the plastic containers lunch meat comes in (small items, like loose crayons or chalk, can be contained in these well to help organize spaces).

Tips & Warnings

• This will help teach your children about recycling.
• An appreciation for art and the supplies necessary to complete projects will develop.
• Sift through these items during times of artist's block to break free
• Try cutting things down to size as items or collected to cut down on clutter.
• Go through the junk mail and magazines hunting for interesting pictures and text to cut out right away, then discard the rest.
• Keep items separate from each other so things don't get lost, damaged or forgotten about.