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Altered Arts, Outside the Box! by Guest Diva Lori Hannon
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I
used to be quite satisfied with scrapbooking. Well, sort of. I loved
the "idea" of scrapbooking. And I was usually content with my layouts,
even if each one took a week or more to complete. You see, I had
convinced myself that it had to be done a certain way; that I had
to "keep it simple"; that everything had to be acid-free and "CK/OK".
The thing is, it wasn't my nature to keep things simple! I had been
a collector all my life. Treasures can be found everywhere, good
people! Junk mail, bubble wrap, cereal boxes . . .
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Remember the feeling you had, tipping your Cracker Jack box on it's side and digging through the sticky, caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts, searching for the elusive red, white & blue, paper-wrapped prize? I do. Once, my big brother - the dreamy kind, 18 years my senior who took great pleasure in amusing his ever adoring, 4-year old little 'sis - must have bought a dozen or so boxes of the stuff. I can picture him pouring the contents of each into a large bowl and then very meticulously tucking all 12 prizes into one box with just enough sticky goodness to fill what little empty space remained. He must have resealed the carton before presenting it to me at the end of the day. Ah . . . it was better than Christmas morning! |
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In many ways, I'm still that 4-yeard old girl who gets positively giddy when I find an old, rusted roller-skate key on the side of the road. I still cut out pictures and phrases from magazines and keep them in a special box - an altered cigar box, that is - for future perusal. In my house, nothing gets thrown in the trash until I give it the once-over and ask myself if it could be used as a wing or headdress or background of some sort in a current or, more often, future project. In my mind, the best thing about being a mixed media artist is that there are NO RULES! It's all about texture and color and feeling. When working on an altered project, I'm fortunate to have a lifetime's supply of Cracker Jack-type treasures at my disposal. But by also being a scrapbook nut, my eye is always drawn to delicious papers and embellishments to round out my work. The hunt … er, fun … never ends! | |
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| If you're new to altering, you'll be happy to know that it won't require much of an investment. As a scrapbooker, you may already have everything you need! Start small … a tiny notebook or tag. Better still, how about creating your first Artist Trading Card? ATCs are often the most rewarding of my projects, mainly because I love working in miniature and they can be completed in no time. For more on ATC's, see our tutorial! | ||
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Other Ideas Consider altering some of the following: |
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Some
of Lori's Must-Haves
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| Last but certainly not least, remember that this is supposed to be f-u-n! I hate to be cliché, but remind yourself to keep thinking outside the box. My years of experience with altered art has been indescribably freeing for this previously self-stifled artist! At the very least, stretching a bit from your comfort zone will be a learning experience that requires very little or no expense. Until, of course, you get hooked, and become a bona fide hoarder … er, collector, like me! | ||
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