by Jude Barton

Created on: November 19, 2010

Most artists and crafters will head on down to the local hobby or art store to find new inspiration and materials for their latest project. Some just browse in the store to get their creative juices going but creativity shouldn’t stop in the craft store. Consider broadening your horizons for materials and supplies. Think outside the box.

Reduce, reuse, recycle is a good mantra for artists. Spend an afternoon at a thrift store with your artsy friends and you will be surprised at the creative sparks that will fly once you start digging around the used and discarded treasures. One person’s junk is another person’s treasure.

Collage

Collage artists will feel like they hit the jackpot here. Check out the housewares and home décor aisles where you will find “vintage” items that you can deconstruct and insert into your collages. An interesting handle from a tray, a finial from a lamp, a floral plate to use in a mosaic - all possibilities. There is a section with belts and purses that you can cut up for interesting pieces of leather and other embellishments. Wouldn’t that alligator bag make a nice textured background?

Jewelry and Beads

If you are a bead person or jewelry maker check out the costume jewelry. Sometimes it’s cheaper to take apart a necklace and re-use the beads rather than go to a bead shop. You may even find some high quality beads and chains to re-purpose into your own designs of belts, earrings and bracelets or to incorporate into a re-purposed garment.

Dolls and Toys

The toy aisle is one of my favorite places. You can use the hair from old dolls for texture in paintings or fringe on any object. If you make masks, doll hair would be a great addition to your embellishments supply box. Think about deconstructing doll houses and cars and trucks. Pieces from a board game can be great embellishments for cards and posters. Alphabets can be used as stamps. Flash cards can be covered and embellished for greeting cards.

Pictures Frames and Canvases

You will see a lot of bad art in good frames hanging on the walls. You can often re-use the canvas the glass and the frames. This is a huge savings if you have a little skill at framing. Save the old mats and backing boards to use for hand made paper.

Books, Journals, Cards and Scrapbook Embellishments

There are tons of used cheap books and magazines that can be re-purposed for creating journals and altered books. You can find boxes of old greeting cards to re-purpose with your own designs.

Those of you who make cards and scrapbook pages can find wonderful embellishments. Look for old dresses and shirts that have unique buttons, belts and snaps. A three dollar blouse might yield ten dollars worth of beautiful buttons and embellishments. Purses, belts and jewelry are another source of embellishments.

The possibilities are endless. You only need your imagination and a few dollars in your pocket.

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