DIY: Repurpose Art Project - A Great Way to Create Beauty Out of Garbage - Scripture Cubes

My very favorite way to create continues to be making something beautiful out of something otherwise destined for the garbage or recycling bin. It feels so darn good! It's both challenging and thrifty, which appeals to me on so many levels. I've found that boxes that once held products or crackers, cereal, and more are a great way to create free (or almost free) canvases for painting or mixed-media collage. If I'm not recycling it, I'm saving it to create with. You can too!

For this project you will need

• Face cream or other small box
• Masking tape
• White Acrylic Gesso (I use Liquitex brand)
• Acrylic craft paints
• Paint brushes
• Stylist (for tiny dots)
• Pencil and high quality eraser (I love a white graphic eraser)

A small face cream box makes the perfect cube for short Bible verses or quotes.

Cover entire the box with masking tape, being sure to cover the box openings and seams.

Paint with one coat of gesso to prepare the surface to paint.

Choose your colors of acrylic craft paints. I use plastic lids from yogurt and cream cheese containers as great little pallets.

Paint the box in an abstract way, blending and adding color. Tip: always use a bit of white when painting in this style.

 Paint entire cube

Lightly pencil in your verse.

Use black paint and a thin liner brush to write your verse.  I also added flourishes and vines, leaves, little berries, etc... Get creative. The stylist is a tool I am never without. It's a perfect little dot maker.

On my first box, I used a Sharpie. That proved to be a mistake. The surface of the cube is bumpy and the Sharpie also was not consistent with the darkness of the ink. So, I went back to what I love the most - a good old paint brush!

Here are the Bible verses I chose

Be still and know that I am God. ~Psalm 46:10

Joy comes in the morning. ~Psalm 30:5

For nothing is impossible with God. ~Luke 1:37

For we walk by faith not by sight. ~2 Corinthians 5:7

A cheerful heart is good medicine. ~Proverbs 17:22

Trust in Him at all times. ~Psalm 62:8

This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ~Psalm 118:24

In quietness and trust are your strength. ~Isaiah 30:15

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you Hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

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It Snowed!

We had our first record snowfall here in Eastern Washington. I think it caught everyone a bit off guard.

It was snowing hard and steady this morning. Even while I was thinking that I wasn't ready for it, I found myself humming "in the meadow you can build a snowman..."

I wish I had taken these photos on my way out for the morning when the temp was colder and the snow heavier. Instead, I waited until my drive home and the snow had melted a bit.

Guess I'd better get in the spirit of it all, 
because this is just the beginning.

This guy was painted on a Dove Soap box.

This jolly guy was once a lotion box.

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Altered Art, Repurposing: Mixed Media Collage

BELIEVE that something wonderful is about to happen!

I LOVE to create art out of something intended for the garbage or recycling bin. This little mixed media collage started out life as a Junior Mint box! It feels so good to rescue something from the garbage and turn it into something beautiful, inspirational, or useful! I have been making these little paintings out of all kinds of boxes. I still love to paint on canvas, but what a way to save money!

Joyful anticipation of wonderful things seems to attract more and more wonderful things!

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I'm Beautiful Like Me

I'm not beautiful like you. I'm beautiful like me!

Mixed-media painting on a re-claimed cake box.

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Toilet Paper Roll Owls are Fun to Make!

I added another owl to the threesome. This one is my favorite, therefore I am going to give him to a friend.

These are really the silliest little things, but I am finding them to be a really fun and simple way to sort of fill-in when I am in-between more difficult projects or even while paint is drying on something else. Plus, I truly love the idea of creating with something destined for the trash!

Sides

Backsides

Recycling, Repurposing - Creating With What You Have

I am saving boxes; cereal boxes, cracker boxes, soap and toothpaste boxes!

And toilet paper rolls to make crowns and other fun things too.

Love yourself to heal yourself

This one was an allergy pill box. I am going through these regularly this year!

I'm beautiful like me and you are beautiful like you!

And know you are wise...

Hoot Hoot! Toilet Paper Roll Owls!

I have been saving toilet paper rolls forever! There are so many fun art projects to do with them.

I LOVE owls. It all began in my childhood when my mom collected them. Can you guess which decade I grew up in? Yep - I am talking the 70's! Toilet paper roll crafts, including owls are all over blog-land and Pinterest. I knew I would dive into making me some toilet paper roll owls. Fun! I used acrylic paints, but you can cover them with paper or use tempera if you are making these with kids. Even fabric would work!

Janie even let this little pink girl snuggle up for a nap.

Hoot Hoot!!!

See more Here: Toilet Paper Roll Owls are Fun to Make

See a quick tutorial here: Toilet Paper Roll Owls:
A Quick Peek at How I Create Mine

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Boho Bobby Pin Earrings Tutorial

I look for inspiration daily and I also am constantly looking to use things I already have to create with. It is especially fun for me to make something out of something it was never intended to be, like Bobby Pins for earrings. Recently, while collecting lovely images on Pinterest, I came across an image of adorable, simple earrings using bobby pins and fingernail polish, etc.... View my inspiration here, at: The Metric Child

And, these are mine. They are fun and easy to make!

My 16 year-old daughter loves them and they are beautiful in her long brown hair. I'll show you how I made them!

You will need

• 12 bobby pins 
• french hook earring wires 
• craft wire (I used a plastic coated wire, but any would work) 
• assortment of embroidery floss 
• assortment of fingernail polish 
• scissors 
• needle nose jewelry pliers 
• jewelry wire snipper 
• piece of card stock (I used an index card and folded it) 

Place bobby pins on  two folded 4"x 6" index cards in half. Pin bobby pins to card as shown.

Begin painting stripes with various polish colors.

Let dry and watch out that you don't get a giant drip, I mean half a bottle on your desk top! Yes, it wrecked the paint! :)

My earrings have a little bead on them so I painted it too.(one blue and one purple)  I found that the top of the polish bottle was a perfect place to balance them to dry.

I also ended up painting the wrap-around coils with a gold-ish brown polish.

Make a loop with your wire, about 2'' in diameter, wrapping the ends around twice to secure it.

Turn it upside down and form a small loop. Wrap ends around a couple of times and snip close to knot, making sure sharp edge is not exposed.

One of the bottles of nail polish was the perfect size to re-shape the loop and get it nice and uniform.

With your jewelry pliers, carefully bend loop open far enough to slip the wire on and gently bend it back to close.

Let fingernail polish dry completely.

I happened to have this sweet creature, Janie to provide company and comic relief. You can read more about her here!

After the polish has dried, thread the bobby pins on to the wire. Divide them in the middle and separate.

Take three different strands of embroidery floss, hold them together and loop the group through, as shown. (slip knot)

At this point, I found it easier to stick the earring wire in this little box of food coloring that I happened to have on my desk,to hold it in place while I braided the strands of embroidery floss. You could tape the wire to something too. Do another set of three different colors next to this one. You will end up with four little braids. Tie a knot, leaving an inch or so hanging down. After knotting, gently pull the strands apart a bit to give them a frayed look.

Finally, separate one strand of an accent color and tie it in a secure knot. Cut at a length to match the braided strands.

Ta Da!!! So colorful and so easy!!! For more creative projects visit my Tutorials page.

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