With Purim just around the corner, now is a great time to start making fun decorations, which in my case are going to include a bunch of collages, vases of flowers, and maybe even some castles, which just occured to me as I type this! I'll let you in on a little secret: I need to make some stage decorations for a Purim party, and I'm thinking that some large vases of flowers flanking the stage might work....okay, I'll keep you posted, of course! Using magazine pages as collage material gives any collage project so much depth and interest, and in this case I used only magazine pages, but one can certainly combine colored or painted paper with magazine paper, especially if the magazines you choose to cut up don't have any of the colors you love. Fortunately for me, one of the magazines that I am tearing up has been filled with full page ads with lots of solid color, so thanks so much to the designer who started that trend! Okay, need some tips for getting starting, lets do this!
You'll Need:
- magazines, newspapers, any printed paper that you don't mind cutting up
- a glue stick
- decoupage medium
- card stock weight or heavier paper to serve as base for collage, but only after the collage is complete, see tips below!
How To:
This is fairly self explanatory, though here are a few important tips for your success:
- I built up my bouquet of flowers from both the front and the back, because adding tall pieces from the back side might be necessary as you go. Namely I cut out the vase with some extra paper that I'd cover up, and got started that way. As I layered the pieces and glued them down the how piece became a unit, without the need for a backing to hold it together!
- Use a glue stick for the initial gluing, keeps the front clean and pieces can be repositioned easily.
- If you like, you can use decoupage medium to secure the collage once you've figured out the entire thing.
- Have fun, and make sure to take a step back and squint to make sure there aren't any gaping holes that need filling with a flower or leaf.
Fun, right? So next time you are looking through a circular or magazine you won't keep, do keep your eyes peeled for great collage pieces, like actual flowers or leaves or interesting patterns.
Okay, the collage journey for Purim is just getting started, so stay tuned!
