Hi everyone,
I'm so glad to see some discussion up here. Thanks for the bubble-wrap idea Cecilia!
I was thinking that a great way to help inspire us would be to share our favorite tips and techniques. How about a discussion on our favorite techniques/materials that involve recycling?
Recently I started saving the clear hard plastic packaging that usually comes with electronics, or food items. For example, I cut out the flat parts of a box that housed roses, a container for salad greens (which I think would also make great storage for craft items or even clothes- provided it was thoroughly cleaned), and even the top to a sushi tray. I cut out the flat pieces with my not-so-great scissors (but I suppose a craft knife would work just as well).
I started experimenting with these plastic pieces- which can be used like acetate. I used Decor-it permanent black ink to stamp a tree onto them and then used metallic gel markers to color in the interior of the image on the reverse (as one would do with vellum). It came out quite nice. I plan on using these in my cards by cutting a hole in the front of the card large enough to see the image. I figure I could create a background with a sky and hills of grass on the inside.
I also tried using my heat gun to emboss an image onto the plastic, but found that the particular plastic I was working with started to shrink like shrink plastic before my eyes. I suppose that could also work, but I need to play around with that first.
Oh and here is another of my favorite tips that I read somewhere and used in a few paper craft projects- using old makeup as a chalking medium. I took it a step further and used liquid and cake foundation that either was ready for the trash bin or was the wrong color for me. I took a stenciling brush (or a cosmetic sponge works well) and used it with a brass stencil for a great background. It dried quickly to a chalky look. I've even used old lipstick. I didn't want the oils in the makeup to smear to the touch- so my favorite way of dealing with that is to buy the cheapest aerosol hairspray (with no CFCs) you can find and spray the card/project. Now I don't know what the acidity level is with makeup or hairspray and whether it is suitable for use with photographs or in scrapbooks, but for cards, it just worked great. The hairspray sealed in the makeup and gave the card a semi gloss finish. I have still to experiment to find out other ways to use these items. I even bought those cheap dollar store eyeshadows that come in multiple colors (which was a great suggestion I read on the internet) and with the hairspray it works well in my stamping, dry embossing and stenciling projects.
There was an awesome segment on Carol Duvall with Michael Strong, where he used recycled objects such as the inside shiny part of an empty, cleaned potato chip bag for one stamping project (as a mirror), mesh screening with embossing powder for another (background for an embellishment), and even crushed egg shell with embossing powder. The effects were really grand, considering that these were items readily available around the home. Definitely trash to treasure!
Anyone else have any recycling ideas/tips?
Happy Stamping, Doreen