Let’s talk about trash! There are 5 reasons why I think you should create with trash! Trash is anything you might normally throw away or recycle. It has served its purpose, but what if it could serve a second purpose!? You could get more mileage out of your goods and your money?? That is a win!
Follow along with Erica and Reagan in a new video where they teach these tips or keep reading to be inspired how you can create FREE fun at home this holiday season.
Let’s dive in and see, if I can convince you to create with trash. We go through a lot of it everyday, and I believe that we can creatively be intentional with what we re-use.
Have you ever turned a spaghetti jar into a flower vase? Or a soup can into a pencil holder? These are some quick ideas to get you thinking of how you can repurpose something to serve you again.
In this post, Reagan and I make a collage out of trash. A collage is sticking a variety of different objects together to cover a backspace. We use cardboard and a tin pan as our backdrops to hold our collages in this example.
Now, let’s talk about why creating with trash matters!
1. Trash Turns into Art
When we work with new and unusual items it taps into a different area of our brain. As a result, we are learning. We are experimenting and can enjoy the process. We are doing something we have not done or maybe seen done before. We aren’t creating towards a finished product, but we are having fun and learning in the process.
2. Trash is cheap
There are so many assumptions and stereotypes that art is expensive. It doesn’t have to be. We all have supplies (yes, like trash) that we already have paid for and can use to create. When we create, we are bringing something to life. That is art.
3. We Learn
When we work with unusual supplies, we are placed in a position to learn.
We learn about the artist. What are they making? They must care about that!
We are also figuring out how things attach, work together, and so we are being engineers. In the process, we learn about 3d creations. Paper is the cheapest form of “typical” art supplies, which is just flat. When we work with trash, we can create bigger sculpture projects.
4. We Have Fun
When we create with trash, there are no expectations of what we need to make or how something needs to turn out. What a freeing feeling to be able to take risks without judgement and just play!
5. There are no souvenirs
The clean up, when we are done creating with trash, is super easy! Just throw all the extra stuff away or take it to the recycling center. It was going there anyway! There is no need to store any extra supplies.
We can then enjoy our creations, but we can also toss them when they end up taking up too much space and need to move on. We didn’t invest a lot in them.
We had fun. We created. The supplies served their purpose and now they can move on and we can create more.
What do you think? Did I convince you that the next time you feel an itch to create something to first stop and look in your recycling items? The kids are coming home for the holidays. I promise you, if you save some trash, invest in a hot glue gun and scotch tape that you will have hours of what feels like FREE at home fun to do together. It’s such a fun way to connect and see your artists’ brain at work being an engineer and imagining the possibilities!
Are you curious at what you can do with your newly created trash collage, after you create it? Reagan and I will be showing you a second part to this idea in a new video going out in our newsletter this week. It’s a collaborative art game that is fun and teaches TEAMWORK.
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Recently, I was asked if turning 40 was harder or easier than turning 30. This made me pause and wonder more what I was thinking about my 40th birthday, and I am excited to put those thoughts into words with all of you. Life is a journey and as Peter Pan says, “to live will be an awfully big adventure.” How cool I’ve now been adventuring for 40 years.
One of the biggest lies and fears I had when closing the studio was how it felt like I was going backwards. At the time, I was being asked, messaged, and emailed regularly about how to open an art studio. I processed and responded to these requests the best I could, but I always was thinking “whoa, I’m not sure. I’m still trying”.
I’m Feeling Free on This 40th Birthday
To celebrate my day, I wanted to adventure with my family. We tried to do a ropes course, but as northern Indiana would have it- most were closed already for the season. We opted to do an escape room, dinner out, and a Target run to celebrate my birthday on Saturday. While we were gone, a huge tree fell in our yard. Luckily, nothing was really hurt except the door to our fence.
In Moving Forwards, I am Largely Connecting with My Roots
In conclusion, turning 40 was much easier than turning 30. My 30’s were all about growing the life I now get to live. I grew kids, we fostered other kids, we moved hundreds of miles, we began a new business venture, and it was a very busy, exciting (while also exhausting) life. There was constant change.
Have you ever looked at your child creating something and thought “how did they think of that?” It happens over here a lot. I am constantly amazed at my kids’ creativity, and it really shows in their cardboard costumes. I love Walt Disney’s quote,
Maybe you just have a sheet of cardboard laying around. It ca be turned into a mask. It can be as big as a pumpkin (wearing sunglasses) or smaller like an animal face. I love that the DIY style lets you be as elaborate or simple your time frame and heart’s desire cares to invest.
We all are ordering online these days. By having things we love shipped directly to our door, we can have smaller cardboard boxes pile up. Am I right!? A smaller cardboard box can be the perfect addition to clothes you already have at home.
What do you think? Do you still need a costume for this year’s trick or treating or Halloween party? Have fun imagining the possibilities! You can save a trip to Walmart and some $ by recycling your cardboard box into a creative costume.
Need more help tapping into your exquisite imagination? Join me in this