Tuesday Tutorial : Julie Fei-Fan Balzer : Trash To Tools

This week Tuesday Tutorials welcomes Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. 

Julie's submission inspired me with it's creativity and emphasis on recycling and reusing stuff you would normally throw away. Watch the video to see her create a great circle-grid layout (among a bunch of other cool ideas + techniques). Make sure to check out her blog for a peek into all her other creative endeavors. 

Here's Julie: 

This tutorial explores several easy ways of turning the trash in your home, into tools for art making. All of these techniques are easy, cheap, and environmentally friendly!

I often look into the bathroom garbage and see a pile of toilet paper tubes.  Here’s something fun you can do with them!

Using a paintbrush, spread acrylic paint on one end of an empty toilet paper tube.

Press it to your project to “stamp” a slightly distressed circle.  In my experience, you can get at least three circles, and sometimes more, from one brush load of paint.

Here’s what the finished circles look like

And here are some finished layouts that use toilet paper tube rings:

MAGAZINE CUTOUT FOR MASKING
Before your magazine even hits the recycling bin, take a few moments to pull some useful items out of it.

Find an image in a magazine with a strong silhouette.

The photo on the left is not a good candidate because of the way her arms are folded into her body. However, the photo on the right will work well because her limbs are clearly defined. Optional: Cover both sides of the image with packing tape (or clear contact paper). If you want to be able to use the image over and over, this is a good idea. If it’s for one time use, don’t bother.

Using scissors and/or an exacto knife, cut out the image. Place it on your paper and spray with ink.

Remove the silhouette (wipe it with a rag to clean it) to reveal your masked image!

And here are some finished cards that have magazine cutout silhouettes on them:

TOOTHBRUSH PAINT SPLATTERING

They say that you should change your toothbrush every three months.  Here’s something you can do with that old toothbrush (other than clean the grout in your bathroom).

Mix water and acrylic paint together.

Dip the toothbrush bristles into the pool of paint and water.

Holding the toothbrush facing sideways, rub your thumb along the bristles in a vigorous manner.  

Paint should go split splatting in every direction!

And here are some layout that use toothbrush paint splats: