Collage Placemats Tutorial

Ok - enough of the philosophical. Time to move on to the fun stuff. I am starting out with a simple but thoughtful craft that you can do on your own or have your kids participate. It is inexpensive and it might just be the kind of project that gets you into the Creative Zone so that you will be willing to try some others.

Collage place mats can be simple or you can get elaborate. Totally up to you. You can make a set of generic looking ones or personalize them for a specific person.

Here is how you do it:

1. Collect materials for your collage, and find inspiration in them.
   • Traditional collage materials include scraps of paper and other flat materials: newspaper and magazine clippings, shopping bags, photographs (or photocopies of photographs), wallpaper, and foil.
   • Objects such as string, beads, feathers, and fabric are OK but you don't want your collage to be bumpy so try to stick with items that lay flat..
   • Collage may encompass images, text, solid colors, or a mixture of these. You may want a recognizable image or word, or simply a suggestion, feel, color, or texture.
   • Use what you have. Start from available materials and work out from there.
   • Create what you don't have. Since collage is an assemblage or blend of elements, it lends itself well to mixed media. You could paint, draw, stamp, or stencil in between the elements you find, or cover over them.
   • Don't rule out unusual materials, like sandpaper, blurry photographs, etc. The place mat below is made from fabric scraps.
   
   
2. Choose a base for your collage. The base is usually flat paper or poster board because these are easiest to work with.
   
   • The background does not have to be white, and it does not have to be plain. The background could include a page from a magazine or book, a large photograph, or a page of text. Paint or draw on it, or cover over it with anything that glue will stick to.
3. Prepare the base by cutting the base to the desired size and shape. I usually go with 16x12" Add any decorations or embellishments you want to the background.
4. Use scissors or an X-acto knife to cut out pieces for your collage. Try cutting your scraps into unusual shapes, cutting out words or letters from a variety of sources to make phrases on your collage, or cutting different pieces so that they fit together.
   • Pick images that reflect the recipients or make a set that are tied together with a theme. I make 4 for our family and each one has our name and a photo of us. I add silly hats, hair and animal bodies to our faces. I also include things that interest us. This year, Tim has a surf theme but last year it was all about mountain biking.
   • A cutting mat helps protect your table and helps make smooth cuts, or cut on top of a scrap of cardboard or an old magazine.
   • Cut out a whole picture, an identifiable part, or just enough to evoke texture, color, or feeling.
   • Cut different shapes for both words and images. Experiment with round and straight edges, regular and irregular shapes.
5. Try tearing materials too. The rough, random edges give parts of your collage a different character than cutouts.
6. Arrange the items on your background. You can arrange the whole thing, then glue, or you can arrange as you go if you prefer a more spontaneous approach.
   • Play with the juxtaposition of different elements and don't be afraid to make this part a messy process. Serendipity may hand you something interesting that you hadn't thought of.
7. Apply glue to each item and carefully but firmly press it down. Then, use your finger to rub it flat from the inside to the edges. Continue this process with each piece, overlapping pieces if you wish, until you are finished.
   • Glue underneath pieces before pieces on top.
   • You don’t have to cover the whole surface if you don’t want to, You can fold or crumple pieces of paper to get interesting textures and reliefs.
8. Let the finished collage dry completely. Depending on the glue(s) you used, you may need to let the collage dry for a few hours or more than a day.
9. Add any finishing touches. Do you want to apply a thin layer of paint or write or stamp over parts of it? Do you want to add textures, such as scratches?
10. Laminate the collage -I bring it to Kinkos. The do a great job and it only costs a couple bucks. I have an old Xyron with laminate that I bought solely for this purpose but it isn't firm enough and it peels over time. Kinko's laminate can be wipes with a sponge again and again without it affecting the laminate.
11. Ta-Dah! - you are all done. Ok now for the wrapping because these are shaped weird. Wrap it in the funny papers, go to the thrift store and buy a couple old record albums, then use the 2 sleeves as a "box" Tape them together and give as is or wrap them up with newspaper, magazines, or tuck them in a reuseable grocery bag...

Obstacles and Objections to a Homemade Christmas

Lets face it...we live in America, a society of get it done, keep up with the Jones' and mega-consumption. It is hard enough to limit our kids sugar intake, monitor their television exposure and teach them how to be kind, productive, tolerant members of society. Even with the best of intentions, we find ourselves detoured into the Taco Bell drive-through instead of preparing a home cooked meal. We can't get away from the temptation to turn on Cartoon Network for just a few minutes of quiet time. A parent would have to make it a full time job to prevent their children from getting exposed to all kinds of unproductive behavior whether it be through the media, at school or on the playground. So, to try to impose yet another "healthier choice" can be a difficult undertaking. Especially when the media is showing all the cool STUFF you HAVE to get for Christmas. I imagine many a parent has been tempted to combat the commercialism but decided that it was too big of a fight to win. I get it. I'm right there with you. (Between you and me -sometimes I don't even bother serving vegetables because I know it will end up a battle of wills and I don't have the energy for it.

"And now you propose a Handmade Christmas?? Are you mad?" Oh please...let me clarify. What I suggest is that we do our part to counterbalance the insanity we call the holidays. Instead of giving into this emphasis of "buying", lets look at this season as a time to be kind to one another and to ourselves. To be generous without filling our closets and cupboards and landfill with unnecessary stuff. To be thoughtful in our shopping, to repurpose when possible and to keep our kids out of the chasm of want. That dark abyss that distracts us from being good people and that is destroying our planet. It can be a lot of work, but if you think strategically, you can make an impact.

The trick is to recognize that if our attitudes toward consumption don't change, they will be changed for us in the not-to-distant-future.

Now our family does not subscribe to an exclusively hand made Christmas. We do a hybrid. For example, I never buy new gift bags, but I do recycle the ones I have from last year. My kids like toys and I am not a toy maker so those items are store bought. Sometimes they are brand spankin new-straight from China and other times they are items I bought on Etsy, ebay or at the thrift store. If it is from Etsy it is usually something handmade but I always confirm that it has been tested for lead. If it is from ebay, I am careful that the seller has a good reputation and do my due diligence to make sure the item is in tact and clean (i.e. wooden train tracks and trains) and if its from the thrift store, it is usually something like kid videos or a cool chess set. I feel good about looking to ebay and the thrift store because it is recycling but I also have little kids who don't notice if something isn't brand new.

For those of you with teenagers, you face a much more difficult situation when you try to push handmade or recycled items onto your teen. Their entire culture is built upon their stuff... brand names...expensive...cool. In this case, the best you may be able to do is wrap your gifts in recycled newspaper, magazines and grocery bags, skip sending store bought Christmas cards, do away with envelopes and give gift certificates. Maybe, if your lucky, you'll even make your own wreath? You are doing something and that is so much better than not doing something.

So here is a list of 20 ways you can change your Christmas/ Holiday practices without making your kids mad or adding more stress to your life:

1. Give gift cards
2. give experiences instead of stuff - dinner for two, tickets to the theater, tuition for an online class...
3. Shop on Etsy - support artists and avoid wasting gas, time and releasing harmful ommissions by driving to the mall and hunting for a parking spot.
4. Give a health package with vitamins, a colon cleanser, green food, medicinal teas and/ or immune system boosters
5. wrap your gifts in paper bags turned inside out. Use rubber stamps and paint to decorate with holiday cheer.
6. stop using ribbon and bows to decorate your packages. Instead, top your packages with useful items like mints, a spatula or socks
7. ask for and give gifts that are practical - scratch the candy cane boxers and knick knacks - give them their favorite face mousterizer, hair conditioner or a new tool.
8. buy American
9. don't send store bought Christmas cards. Americans buy about 7 billion greeting cards each holiday season and most of these cards are made from paper from virgin forests and end up in landfills shortly after arriving at their destination. Instead send ecards or make your own from last years cards and supplies you have in your home.
10. ask people if they have a big ticket item that you can contribute to and get one lined up for yourself. I have a sewing machine on lay away and when asked what I want for Christmas I suggust putting a little money down on it. I give them the store name and tel # so they can take care of it without actually handing over cash.
11. give an herb garden or fruit tree. Its the gift that keeps on giving!
12. give your time. What are you good at? computers, photography, organizing?? create a gift certificate on your computer and put it under the tree.
13. replace your current Christmas lights with the new energy efficient ones.
14. one word - itunes
15. give a subscription to a vegetable co-op.
16. don't stock up on extra gifts just in case you need one last minute. Buy a few starbucks cards if you must, but it is OK to downsize on your gift giving.
17. give re-usable grocery bags instead of gift bags to wrap up presents. I do this every year and I feel really good that my friends and family may save a few trees because of it.
18. give a photograph in a frame. That is an awesome gift!
19. don't buy your stocking stuffers at the dollar store. We are all tempted to take advantage of those inexpensive, colorful goodies but most of it ends up in the land fill. Instead fill their stockings with fruit, nuts, lip balm, hand lotion, an eco-friendly water bottle, hand sanatizer and of course candy!
20. give privledges -this is bound to be a hit with your teens! an afternoon off of school, a 1-hour extension on bedtime, pass on a chore for a week or movies on a school night.
    

10 sure fire ways to ignite the spirit of giving...

Many people struggle with getting into the Christmas spirit. The days are shorter; it is cold outside; and if you watch the news, one could easily conclude that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. For many of us, the holidays remind us of people we have lost or represent a lot of "to-do's" in a very short period of time.

The best way to combat the holiday blues and whip up some holiday spirit is to be in service to others. Yes, even if your well is dry, you feel you have nothing to give or you just don't have the time. There is always a way to bring light to another person. Always. And by doing so, you get a little light too. So here is a short list of ten sure-fire ways to get into the holiday spirit!

1. make and send Christmas cards for our troops
2. make and drop off cookies to the local fire dept.
3. Buy extra food at the grocery store and drop it in the food donation can or better yet, start a can food drive at your work, school and/or association by contacting youror rescue organization.
4. find out how you can be in service for a local shelter - whether it is donating, time, money or services. Every little bit helps make this world a better place.
   
5. donate new toys to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. To find your local chapter, click here
6. Organize a group to sing Christmas Carols at a local retirement home
7. Buy the person behind you in line at Starbucks a coffee
8. Vow to change one behavior for the good of the planet
9. Make and give your neighbors, postal worker, hair stylist, and other support people a homemade card and/or gift like hot coco in a recycled jar with marshmellows on top or gingerbread cookies. You can always include a gift card if you have the money to give.
10. Resist the urge to buy useless gifts just to cross someone off of your shopping list. You end up supporting a disposable economy and contributing to global warming. This is especially hard when you have a tight budget because we never want to be caught empty handed. Instead have a tree planted in this person's name. It only costs $4 and they will receive an e-certificate and GPS coordinates so you can visit the tree.

To find more ideas visit:

Let me know if you try any of these ideas or if you have another to add.

Introduction to a Handmade Christmas

Christmas has not always been a time of delight and joy for me. When I was younger and less able to appreciate my blessings in life, I thought Christmas was just a big fat reminder of everything I DID NOT have. I wallowed in my prediction that there would not be enough love, gifts, generosity, money, invitations, etc. and recruited others to do the same.

I worked hard to make "Bah Humbug" fashionable. My ridiculous self-centeredness made every flippin' Christmas carol feel like a giant raspberry from the universe.

Before the season was over, I would end up flush with all kind of gifts and blessings but I would be unable to enjoy them. I was pretty certain that the only reason I got what I got was because I sustained a level of prepared disappointment and experiencing any sort of joy or gratitude might jeopardize the possibility of getting more...

In other words, I was a spoiled young woman and no matter how much I got, it would never be enough.

But being a mom has totally changed this pattern of behavior for me- thank God! I work very hard each year to shelter my children from the commercialism and the emphasis on "getting" by doing a Handmade Christmas.

Last year baking Christmas Cookies

Last year, I was blessed to discover a whole like-minded movement which has made this tradition even more exciting. I have found so much inspiration from bloggers like One Crafty Mumma and Me and My Thoughts where there are tons of great ideas and dozens of tutorials.


This practice of a Homemade Christmas focuses on the joy of giving and encourages creativity. I can not tell you how much my kids thrive on making gifts for others. Maybe this story will... Aidan came home from school a week ago with a huge list of toys he wanted from Santa. There were well over $1,000 worth of gifts written in his cute 1st grade handwriting and he seemed pretty sure that if he sent the list to Santa, he would get each and every one of them. I explained that Santa might bring one item on his list but not all of it.

He said, "but lots of the kids at school get everything on their list and I get in less trouble than a lot of them."

Every year we make a homemade Chicken Pot Pie together

I told him that Santa brings gifts to match the traditions in each house and at our house we focus on the giving, not the receiving. He was not thrilled with that answer, but I went on to explain how in our family we may only get one or two big presents from Santa but we spend the whole month of December doing things to celebrate Christmas like decorating, making gifts, ornaments, cookies and most of all, spending time together. Other families may get lots of "stuff" but their Christmas is just a morning. They wait, wait, wait, until Christmas arrives; rip through the presents and then it is all over for another 365 days.

"Hmmmmmm" he replied. He was clearly analyzing the data.

The next day we started getting our Christmas groove on by drinking gingerbread tea, listening to Christmas carols and doing Christmas crafts. The kids made all kinds of ornaments and paper chains and not once did I hear someone say "I'm bored!"- (a Christmas miracle!) While we were cleaning up, Aidan said "I like the way we do Christmas mommy. I LOVE doing crafts with you. When can we do it again?"

"Next weekend, and every weekend after until Christmas" I replied. He smiled huge and yelled "Yeah!" while he jumped up and down. "I don't need all those toys mommy... just the Lego's"

So here are a few of the goodies I have started on for gifts this year (just to wet your whistle). Tutorials and more pictures will follow. Subscribe to my feed so you know when new articles are posted because I have a lot of fun and easy crafts that are earth friendly, easy to do and inexpensive too. Welcome to Homemade Christmas everyone!

The handles on this bag are made from an old scarf


Burlap and cotton reversible shopping bag

This is a ring

This is a pendant with a tiny spool of thread, pin and button

Hand Made Christmas

As expected, December has been a flutter of activity but not in it's usual fashion. There have been a couple parties and lots of Christmas spirit but no shopping sprees, no fire drills about getting holiday cards out and no running around trying to "do it all."

With the state of the economy we have decided to have a Hand Made Christmas inspired by Melissa Goodsell at One Craft Mumma. We decided that our kids were young enough that we could create some new traditions without them objecting. We have always done hand made gifts, but this year we took it a step further and our house is exploding with Christmas Spirit.
Our cover story is this... We told the kids that Santa contacted all the parents and said that Christmas had become too much about toys that kids see on commercials rather than about love and the spirit of giving. He and the elves decided to give 3 gifts to each child - one of which would be hand made by Santa. Some kids may say they got 10, 20 or more gifts from Santa, but theose extra presents are really from parent's who are afraid their kids will get upset with just 3 presents from Santa. Santa also said that everyone should make gifts for the people they love so that their heart will be in each present.

My kids did not have an opinion one way or another at first, but once they started making gifts, they really got into it. We've made clay beads for jewelry, clay figures with magnets for the fridge. We have framed pictures they drew and we have used the bind it all to make journals and notebooks covered with their original artwork. We have decorated Christmas ornaments with glitter and we have a few more projects we are going to work on before the big day.

You might think that a hand made Christmas would take more time and cause more stress than the usual drill, but to our chagrin - this has not been the case. We have been working on the gifts after the kids are asleep. It has given us more quality face time and been the source of lots of laughter. I am making a popcycle stick dollhouse for Eva and the 2nd story has had a few structural issues that left us with a big case of the giggles.

We have supplimented the bulk under the tree by also purchasing recycled items which is great for the environment and very inepensive. We picked up 10 Disney videos from Savers for $1 each and I scored a old school tape recorder (just like the one I had as a kid - about the size of a shoe box) from the flea market for $2. The hunt for quality pre-owned gifts is quick, fun and there are very little crowds at Savers, goodwill and the flea market.

I am so happy that these tough times has resulted in a renewed Christmas spirit in our home. I am grateful that I have a family that feel the same way. I cannot help but wonder if there is a wonderful opportunity for Americans during this recession. Perhaps we needed to be cornered into conservation, minimalism and simplicity. Maybe the universe is helping us count our blessings by removing the things that keep us from seeing how good life is without the accessories.