Reclaimed Items Yard Fountain
First Published August 30, 2014 | By Diana Romaxx
http://retrobellish.com/2014/08/reclaimed-items-fountain/Click Here To See Original Post
Junk Mail Collage Flowers
This fun reclaimed project is made from junk mail and a few graphics that we made in a graphic program. If you receive a lot of junk mail, as a crafter you know that a lot of these papers have some bright and beautiful colors. I like to save scrap papers or cardboard that have bright or gradient colors that I can use to make paper collage art – it’s like painting with paper.
Sometimes, I also paint some of the pieces of paper with acrylic paints to achieve certain colors that I don’t have at the moment. Just let them dry and then rip them into small pieces or whatever size you need to create your own paper collage.
White glue is my perferred choice to glue down the scrap paper pieces but you can use your favorite choice. For me, I prefer a toothpick to glue down the paper pieces, but I have also used a junk paint brush when needed.
After all the paper pieces are dry on the background, I scan the complete piece, and then use a popular image editing software to compose the flowers with the pot images, or the pots could also be made of paper. The piece can then be framed for a more complete look. And although I chose to make a flower collage, one can make whatever you can think of. So just have fun and create your own piece of art.
Paris Theme Paper Plates
This beautiful Paris theme plate started with one of our original graphic designs of the Eiffel Tower surrounded with swirls against a light pink background and framed within a dark pink circular pattern. I had several large pink paper plates that were left over from a party and thought our Eiffel Tower design would look great in the center of one of these large plates. Because it was computer designed, it was easy to re-size the design to fit perfectly in the center of the plate. I then cut out the round design, glued it to the center of the pink paper plate using white craft glue, and let it dry.
Next, I used a small tube of silver fabric paint to trace the round edges of the circular design. I then used the same silver fabric paint to draw a freehand swirl design in the outer areas of the plate. For this part of the project, I only painted the swirls in about one-half of the plate’s outer area because it is difficult to hold the plate while drawing the swirls without smudging the fabric paint. To avoid smudging the fabric paint, I let the fabric paint dry overnight, and then continued painting the other half of the plate the next day. This project turned out so well in pink, I decided to create another one in blue.
The next step is entirely optional, but once the fabric paint on the plate is completely dry, I would suggest you seal the entire plate with a glossy or matte Mod Podge or any similar product. I coated the entire surface of the plate with glossy Mod Podge. As always, just because we created this one in paper, don’t be afraid to create your very own project. You could also use a clear glass plate, plastic plate, styrofoam plate even a round circular piece of wood, so don’t be afraid of the medium and just create your very own project – you will truly enjoy it. Thank you for your visit. Diana Romaxx
Back View Of Paper Plate
Our Two Graphic Designs
Re-purpose Your Holiday Cards
This is a previous post.
Reclaimed Items Fountain
This fountain started out from a food grade blue plastic barrel. We cut the barrel in half leaving more of the barrel on the bottom. We then buried the barrel about two feet into the ground. Next we started to build up the sides with dirt that we had left over from a fence project. Everything you see in the photo was left over from different projects or given to us by friends.
Years ago when several of our trees were small, we had placed decorative garden pavers around each one. As the trees grew throughout the years, we removed the pavers and saved them. We used these old garden pavers to build a decorate wall around the fountain and placed a few on the sides to use as shelves. We also added a lot potting soil on top of the dirt so we could plant some flowers and plants. We also used several old flat lime stones to create a small path in front of the fountain. The yellow pop bottle flower was from a previous Retrobellish project Found Here.