Free Collage & Mixed Media Art Supplies

Art can be made at your kitchen table. You don't have to have a full art studio. I don't!

Once you get the hang of seeing what would normally be considered "trash" as potential art supplies, you won't be able to stop! (not always a good thing, but I believe you can control yourself...)

You WILL be surprised what visual joy can come from your fingertips! Don't go into this thinking that you have to make art that all will love. You don't have to show it to ANYONE, so, create what you want to create, and do it for YOURSELF!

PAPERS:

freezer paper
deli paper
brown paper bags
plain white paper towels with various patterns
parchment paper
foil gum wrappers
wrapping paper with designs (not pictures such as Santa or babies, unless you want collages with Santas & babies)
transparency sheets
carbon paper (remember that stuff?)
blank newsprint
origami, rice & mulberry paper
empty cereal boxes
wax paper
printed and solid color tissue papers
paper used in stores to wrap glassware/breakables
tracing paper
colorful junk mail
paint sample cards
gas station window wiping towels
wallpaper and borders, especially textured
old book pages in any condition
leftover scrapbooking paper scraps

FOR MAKING TEXTURES:

corrugated cardboard pieces
bubble wrap (both sizes)
Plastic forks (for making lines), knives(make tiny lines), spoons(smooth swirls and peaks)
scotchbrite
foil
plastic wrap
straight edged combs
wire brush

UNUSUAL SURFACES TO CREATE ON:

sheet tin, aluminium
thin scrap plywood pieces
cardboard
canvas

LOOK FOR:

organizing trays
old wooden furniture with lots of small drawers (like a card catalog or sectioned postal sorting wall grid)
used shelving brackets

EMPTY BOXES:

gelatin boxes
soup mix boxes
shoe boxes
candy boxes
dvd boxes
cardboard individual jewelry boxes
animal cracker boxes
medicine boxes (cough syrup, cold medicine, analgesics, etc.)
old cigar boxes
cigarette boxes

SAVE: (AND THIS IS THE BIG LIST!)

egg cartons with flat tops (foam and paper)
glass jars (with lids or without) of all sizes and shapes
yogurt cups
paint stirrers and scrapers
leftover paints, stains
frozen juice can metal ends
old unusable clothes, towels, muslin, interfacing, sheets, blankets
fabric scraps
Smalls (thimbles, soda caps, ANY broken jewelry and watch parts, charm bracelets, single earrings or cufflinks, bottle caps, broken crayons, stubby pencils, interesting pebbles, thread spools, dice, buttons, beads, sequins, tokens of any kind, etc.) old silverware
old paint brushes, regular or foam, any size from small craft size and up
pot pie foil tins
silicone jell preserve beads from pill bottles, new purses, etc.
decks of cards with missing cards
pieces from incomplete games, puzzles, scrabble, dominoes
unwanted shoe boxes or small boxes (with or without lids)
old wooden or plaster picture frames
shaped baby toys (shape sorter plastic shapes, wooden blocks, tinker toys)
cardboard baby books (covers & pages cardboard) in ANY condition
old hardcover books of ANY size, shape, condition, content or binding
old gift cards plus fake credit cards that come in the mail
covers of any greeting cards, new or old, plus envelopes and postcards
scrap string, twine, thread, yarn, ribbon, elastic, embroidery floss, wire, etc.
broken colored plates
cookie tins
plastic shapes from baby "shape sorter" toys
flower/seed catalogs
old hardcover Reader's Digest Condensed Books
old keys
old coasters
fabric/woven/bamboo placemats or calendars
old maps, atlases
unwanted encyclopedias
1970 or older magazines, catalogs, logbooks, textbooks
old books in any language, in ANY shape
old Sheet music
old manuals (cars, washing machines, etc.)
punch cards from work
leftover polyfill
dryer lint
unwanted craft supplies (colored pencils, water colors, markers, popsicle sticks, pipecleaners, craft foam, felt, etc.)
unusable cd's, dvd's
leftover inks, dyes
silk, plastic flowers, leaves
empty Russell Stover or Whitmans candy boxes, with all inserts except candy tray
ferraro Roche foils
old hinges and door knob plates
transistors, resistors, diodes
paper dolls
chicken wire
packing materials (peanuts, bubble wrap, used padded envelopes)
unwanted or too old tea bags
fortune cookie papers
chop stix paper wrappers
Chinese menus
tulle from party favors
old charm bracelets, single earrings and cufflinks
broken screens, rusty or not
old curtain rings
old dial phones
green and red stamps plus the booklets
used international postage stamps
shells
medallions
slide projector slides
wooden matches and cardboard match boxes
guitar pics
brass stampings
old belts and belt buckles
gumball machine toys
old sewing box contents, tape measures, anything
old Cookie cutters
dowel pieces
little glass bottles (ink, poison, asprin, liquor)
play paper money and coins
feathers
faux fur
rubber or foam stamps
unwanted board games
plexiglass pieces
cotton carpet samples
old shutters and window sashes
unwanted stencils

A lot of these items can be gathered by trusted friends and family who won't throw you in a guarded facility for begging for junk!

My Motto is:

"WHEN IN DOUBT, SAVE IT ANYWAYS!"

I don't know how many times I've thrown some little thing away and then chastised myself for it because I thought of a way to use it after the fact. I've now got a separate box that is specifically for those items. It's not a big box, and I go through it often, but it seems as if every time I read a new collage or altered art book, I finish it with even more ideas and suddenly something in the "crap box" is exactly what I need!

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO MY LINKS FOR THE FOLLOW-UP LENS LINK ON HOW TO USE THESE ITEMS PLUS ADDITIONAL LINKS TO MY OTHER ART AND JEWELRY WEBSITES!