Salvage meets style

Photos courtesy Tracy Wamp

With a little imagination, kids can “recycle” junk into cool and funky art

Photos courtesy of Tracy Wamp

If your home is like most, you’ve got plenty of random stuff sitting around—things you’ll probably never use, but that you haven’t quite managed to throw away. Got some old jelly jars or wood scraps in your garage, or maybe a dried-up paintbrush or two? How about some odd buttons or bits of embroidery thread in your sewing basket?

With a little imagination, your kids can recycle that stuff into cool and clever art.

Tracy Wamp, who runs the Frances B. Wyatt Recreation Center Art Annex for the city of Chattanooga, just wrapped up a series of summer camps focused solely on such creative “repurposing.” Here Tracy shares three of the funky art projects her campers worked on this summer.

You can do these projects with your kids at home—all you’ll need is your own random stuff and a few inexpensive art supplies. (Supplies are usually available at craft stores or the craft aisle of a department store.) FYI: Modge Podge is an all-in-one sealer, glue and finish. Acrylic paints run around 75 cents a bottle and come in a rainbow of colors. Gesso is a surface primer. You’ll also need a hot-glue gun, which means younger children will require adult supervision.

Funky Recycled Abstract

Ingredients:

• cardboard scrap, cut to desired size
• black paint
• assorted lids (from jars and drink containers)
• tile chips (samples from local flooring stores)
• Modge Podge
• glitter
• assorted buttons
• hot glue gun

Process:

1. Decide on your design, stacking lids, tile chips and buttons into interesting patterns.
2. Paint cardboard black.
3. After the cardboard has dried completely, add a coat of Modge Podge and follow with a few shakes of glitter.
4. Glue on tile chips, lids and buttons.
5. Use a soda tab or a pipe cleaner glued to the back for hanging.

Pill Bottle Vase

Ingredients:

• small wood scrap that can stand on end
• empty pill bottle
• leftover embroidery string
• paint primer or gesso
• acrylic paint in bright colors
• permanent markers or paint pens
• low-temperature hot glue gun
• Modge Podge

Process:

1. Prime wood scrap with primer or gesso.
2. Decide on design and placement of pill bottle.
3. Paint wood according to design. Let dry, then add a coat of Modge Podge and set aside.
4. Put a drop of glue in the threading at the top of the pill bottle, place the embroidery string on the drop of glue, and wrap the top with the string until you reach the desired thickness.
5. Decorate pill bottle with permanent markers or paint pens.
6. Hot glue the pill bottle onto wood scrap.

Paintbrush Personality

Ingredients:

• paintbrush very stiff to the touch with old, dried-out paint
• gesso
• acrylic paints or permanent markers
• old advertisement magnets cut into strips
• hot glue gun
• Modge Podge
• small paint brushes (if using acrylic paints)

Process:

Apply a coat of gesso to the entire paintbrush and let dry.

Paint the “hair” (paintbrush bristles) desired color.

Paint the paintbrush body and add the details (eyes, nose, mouth, etc.).

Add one or two coats of Modge Podge.

Turn paintbrush face down, hot glue magnet strips to the back, and stick it on your fridge.