Sunday is a day that I try to do non-work type projects, meaning things I’m not likely to sell at an art fair or an online store. These are more experimental projects. Or even just playing.
This Sunday, I chose to decorate a cardboard box for collage scraps. The purpose would be to have a place to put scraps where they are easily accessible and not hidden away in drawers or bins.
It also serves a form of upcycling. Instead of buying yet another storage bin to put scraps in, I used something I already had. And in order to keep me from just filling the box, closing it up and shoving it in a closet to forget about, I cut the flaps off the box. So now, it is an open box, no longer ‘closable’. If the box starts to get to full, it’s time to use up some scraps!
I then collaged some of the scraps to the sides of the box to give it a more artistic look, since it will be sitting in my workspace. (Bonus! It also used up some of those very scraps!)
I know it’s tempting to just buy bins and boxes and such at the Dollar Store, but it is more satisfying (and earth-friendly) to use things you already have, or found items. Most of my brushes, pens and tools are in repurposed vessels–coffee mugs, vintage jam and honey jars, and even an old light fixture. I have a stack of fruit cups that I use for mixing paints and mediums.
Never overlook what you already have!
-Armanda