Anatomy of a Mixed Media Collage

I found a darling cat brooch at a garage sale this summer.  I always purchase stuff that has anything to do with cats because they sell.  LOL.  I love cat people  :  )

 

I make up my own rules for mixed media collages and I thought it would be fun to show you my process.  Collages go together fast and are an easy way to make a gift for someone after you find the “inspiration” piece.

 

You can get wood plaques at garage sales or thrift stores for an inexpensive base for the mixed media collage.

 

I started with a wood plaque, cat brooch, some of the leather pouch I have been using all summer, plus some garage sale jewelry.

 

INSPIRATION: The cat pin is so cute when you have the theme, it is easy to build around the it.

It is very easy to remove the pin back with wire cutters.

After I painted the wood plaque with very opaque alcohol ink I decided where the cat brooch would look best.

 

TYPOGRAPHY:  adds to the importance of the inspiration piece. It is another layer that not only takes up space, but adds meaning to the composition.  I covered the necklace pendants with cool fonts.  Aleene’s Tacky Glue holds them securely to the wood plaque.

 

TEXTURE & INTEREST:  The leather was an experiment.  It turned out!  The texture and interest elements like the necklace chain and jewelry finding (from a garage sale belt) add importance and interest.  I used brass escutcheon nails to tack the pieces of leather to the plaque.

 

Mixed Media collages make great and inexpensive gifts.  Use what you have and if you start with the inspiration piece, add typography, texture and unusual pieces for interest….you have a OOAK piece.  EASY!  Good luck  :  )