Junk Art Your World!

Kelly D.

Junk art is a great way to reuse all kinds of items as well as making something pretty unique. You may be asking yourself "what is junk art?" Junk art is taking something, say, a picture frame, and hot gluing a variety of bits and pieces to it. Things like charms, bits of old jewelry, anything small that has a shape to it. You can paint it or leave it the way it is when you're done putting the junk to it, but either way, its something that can be very fun and creative.

what you need:

hot glue (gun and sticks) is ideal because its very strong and dries quickly
something to "junk-up"...thread spools (wood is best, but plastic should work too), picture frames, small wood/cardboard boxes (can be bought from a Wal-Mart or craft store for pretty cheap)
most importantly... an assortment of "junk" (charms, old jewelry, paperclips, beads, small material flowers, pen springs, coins, basically anything small)
optional:
paint (spray paint or acrylics, both can be purchased cheaply)

what to do:

Start by taking the object you're going to "junk-up" and look at it and your assortment of junk, and try to get an idea of what you want it to look like or where you want to place the little pieces of junk on it. If you have bits or pieces that have a neat shape or look then you might want to consider special placement.

Now, apply a dab of hot glue and then stick a piece of junk to the glue but be careful, hot glue is called "hot" for a reason. You can end up with some pretty nasty little burns or blisters if you don't pay attention to what you're doing, but that's true of a lot of different crafts like wood cutting or wire sculpture.

When the item has been "junked" to your satisfaction you can paint it all over to give it a funky metal or antique look (if done in gold, silver, or brass) or any kind of color scheme you want. The great thing about junk art is it all depends on how creative you get with it, it gets as fabulous as your imagination.

About the Author-
Kelly D. is a staff writer and site editor for HolidaysDot.com.