Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Lettering

This is the finial entry in my Paper Mache Recycle Bin series.
Here are the others:
Paper Mache Bin: First Coat
Paper Mache Bin: Second Coat with Wide Strips of Newspaper
Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Third Coat with Small Pieces of Torn Christmas Wrapping Paper

Now for the lettering:

• Write

"Dry Recycle"

in large letters on a piece of white paper.

• Tear

small pieces of the wrapping paper you want to use for the lettering.

Dry Recycle Lettering and Wrapping Paper Pieces

Cut out the letters.

Letters Cut Out

Glue them on.

Glue Letters on the Container

As you can see, the wrapping paper I chose blends in with the background, so the words aren't clear.

Wrapping Paper Blends In

We actually liked the color of the pen I used to write the letters with. So I thought we could either reprint the letters on a new piece of paper making them thicker, so they don't need to be covered,

or
find magazine pictures in colors that might contrast the wrapping paper, tear those up, and use them to cover the letters.

In the end, I decided to use the red wrapping paper to cover the lettering and see how that works.

Lettering Covered with Red Wrapping Paper Pieces

If I had to re-choose the wrapping paper I used to cover the bin with, I'd select the less bold light blue and light green paper.

For the lettering, I'd use the silver and the red paper, so they would stand out more than they do.

That's all right. I like my bin. I've even got it filled too.

Ready to Take Out

Later, if I want, I can store it with my Christmas decorations and use it to collect the wrapping paper people are tearing off their gifts.

Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Third Coat with Small Pieces of Torn Christmas Wrapping Paper

My last coat for this dry recyclables container is torn wrapping paper from Christmas presents.

The other two layers are

Paper Mache Bin: First Coat
and
Paper Mache Bin: Second Coat with Wide Strips of Newspaper.

The finished bin is Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Lettering.(Update March 11, 2015)

Last Coat: Torn Christmas Wrapping Paper Pieces

As you can see from the picture, I'm only covering the outside with the wrapping paper and leaving the inside plain newspaper strips.

Now that I've spent the time paper maching two layers with newspaper strips, I don't think they are needed.

If I make another container, I wouldn't  use newspaper at all.

I would use

• Two paper bags with handles, one inside of the other (doubled)
• One layer of wrapping paper mache on the outside only
• I might try Collage Pauge: Instant Decoupage which claims to be "water-resistant." It costs about twice as much as white glue, but it is worth a try for this container. Then I could spread it over the bottom and inside to protect the paper bag.

That's it.

It should be strong enough.

Here it is March and I have a Christmas themed recycle bin which is okay at our house. But others may like a different colored bin for the spring and summer months.

If I only use one paper mache layer of Christmas paper, the bin could be finished Christmas day. 

Then as birthdays roll around, we can use that torn paper to re-paper mache the bin and update it. 

Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Second Coat with Wide Strips of Newspaper

I started this container for dry recyclables back in December where you can see the first coat of paper mache:
Paper Mache Recycle Bin: First Coat

Here's the third coat:
Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Third Coat with Small Pieces of Torn Christmas Wrapping Paper (Update March 7, 2015)

Here's the finished bin:
Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Lettering (Update March 11, 2015)

Now I'm using nice large, wide strips of newspaper to cover the bag faster and make the process of applying the strips less tedious.

Apply Wide Strips of Newspaper

Here I'm putting the second coat on the bottom of the bag.

I found that I only need two coats of newspaper instead of the three I had originally planned. Since I started with double paper bags, it is pretty strong already.

By the time I add the finishing layer of wrapping paper I saved from Christmas presents, this recycle bin will be strong enough to carry out empty tissue boxes, empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls, and old newspapers to be recycled.

Snowy Pine Trees Framing the Watercolor Aurora Borealis Sky: Paper Craft

This is the forth installation in my watercolor aurora borealis, northern lights, series.

The first was Simple Craft: Little House in a Watercolor Aurora Borealis where I detailed all the steps and created my watercolor northern lights backgrounds.

The second was Watercolor Craft: Little Igloo Under the Northern Lights.

The third: Reindeer Against the Watercolor Northern Lights Sky.

These trees are the  forth out of series of five, so here they are: the snowy pine trees.

This is the watercolor background I started with.

Northern Lights Background

I thought the green pine trees would be a nice contrast to the red shooting up from the middle of the sky.

Set up of the pine trees

Having the tree bursting out of the boundary of the sky, I thought, gave the feel of their nearness bringing us into the picture.

I used:

• white printer paper for the snow
• brown construction paper for the tree trunks
• green construction paper for the branches
• one cotton ball for the snow on the branches

I cut out

1. the snow 
2. a short thin brown rectangle for the little pine tree's trunk
3. a larger, thicker brown rectangle for the larger pine tree's trunk

Snow and Tree Trunks

Don't do any gluing yet, so you can move the pieces if you want.

*****

Making the Large Pine Tree Branches

 Take a sheet of green construction paper. Place it in front of you lengthwise and fold the bottom right hand corner up to the top edge of the paper making a triangle.

First Fold: Making a Triangle

 Cut off the extra paper not part of the triangle.

Cut of the Extra

Fold the triangle a second time bringing the bottom left corner up to the top right corner.

Second Fold

Cut along each fold so that you have four very large triangles.

Four very Large Triangles

Take the top two triangles and fold the bottom corner up to the top.

Two very Large Triangles, Folded

Cut along the fold of these triangles so they become four large instead of very large triangles.

Cut along the Fold

Now you have the branches of the large pine tree.

Place these large triangle--branches--on to the large tree trunk.

Placing Branches on the Large Tree--One

Placing Branches on the Large Tree--Two

Placing Branches on the Large Tree--Three

Placing Branches on the Large Tree--Four

So now we have the large pine tree in it's place but not glued on yet.

*****

Next is the Branches for the Little Pine Tree

One very large triangle will become all of the little pine branches.

One Very Large Triangle

Fold it in half.

Fold the Very Large Triangle in Half

And then again.

Fold the Very Large Triangle in Half a Second Time

Cut along the folds, and you'll have four small triangles.

Four Small Triangles for the Small Pine Tree Branches

Place the little pine tree's branches on the same way you did for the large pine tree.

Little Pine Tree's Branches Placed On

Now you can glue all these pieces on in the same order we created them:

1. snow
2. tree trunks
3. branches, from the bottom up

I like to use a cotton swab dipped into a small puddle of glue and sparingly applying the glue with the swab to the edges of each piece.

Apply a thin line of glue along the sides and bottom edges of the snow.

I didn't put glue along the top edge of the snow, so I could tuck the tree trunks in more easily. 

I finally decided this was easier than loosely gluing the top edge of the snow as I did in the other aurora borealis watercolor crafts in this series.

Putting Glue on the Trunks

Starting to Glue on the Branches

Oops--I put glue on the corner of the branch hanging off the edge of the background.

Next time I won't put glue on that corner.

Almost finished gluing on the Branches

Trees Glued On

Now that the trees are glued on, we can stretch out a little cotton for the snow.

First put a line of glue along the branch, and then put the stretched cotton on top.

Apply Glue for Snowy Branches

Stretching the Cotton over the Glue for the Snowy Branches

Cotton all glued on.

Snowy Pine Trees Framing the Aurora Borealis

Paper Mache Recycle Bin: First Coat

Here's a craft to recycle Christmas paper by making a recycle bin with it.

You can find the other layers here:
Paper Mache Bin: Second Coat with Wide Strips of Newspaper (Update March 7, 2015)
Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Third Coat with Small Pieces of Torn Christmas Wrapping Paper (Update March 7, 2015)

Here's the finished bin:
Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Lettering (Update March 11, 2015)

I'm going to do this over three or four different posts, so this is only the beginning. What you see in the pictures here is the progress I made yesterday. Since it was difficult to cover the bottom, I'll do that later today because it is much easier to work with now that the sides are pretty dry. I may even wait until tomorrow to do the bottom because it is not absolutely bone dry yet.

This is the thing about this craft. It's work intensive, and family members tend to like to wait until the last coat to join in the decorating fun. If you can make a party of it, it could go pretty fast. It took me almost two hours yesterday to do most of the first coat (I still have to finish the bottom).

On the other hand, family members are looking forward to the finished product, so that's always a good sign. ; )

After I'm finished with with the very last coat using the wrapping paper, I'll use the white paper with "recycle" written on it ("Dry" is covered by the newspaper strips.) you see in the picture as a pattern for the label:

Dry Recycle

I'll cut out these letters, and Mod Podge them on to the side of the bin, Then I'll use one of the selections of wrapping paper that stands out to tear into little pieces and stick them over the letters. This what I have planned anyway. We'll see how it goes.

I'm hoping this craft will be a nice little container to carry paper, cardboard and plastic products out to be recycled. I'm designating it only for dry recyclables since I've chosen to use Mod Podge Matte-Mat-Mate with no other sealants. You could use white glue in the same way. It's less expensive and less smelly, but have good memories working with Mod Podge as a kid, so I thought I'd try it.

Materials for the recycle bin

Putting on the strips

Materials

• a doubled paper bag with handles
• torn up newspaper
• non-toxic Mod Podge or white glue and equal part water
• plastic container at least 4 inches in diameter to dip strips into the glue and water
• white paper
• marker

After mixing equal parts water and glue (or mod podge, dip the strips in one by one and smooth over the whole bag, inside and out, including handles.

First coat done

Put the bin aside to dry on a small pile of clean newspaper. No problem if newspaper sticks to the bottom because it is easy to tear it off or smooth it over with Mod Podge later.

When I was finished with the first coat, the container was very floppy. So as it dried, I adjusted it to the shape I wanted.

I'm estimating three coats of newspaper before applying the wrapping paper. It'll take about two days for the bin to dry between coats, and it seems the bottom needs to be done the day after that coat is applied. I wrapped some of the strips around to the bottom, but it is much easier today to fill in what I missed on the bottom yesterday. 

Update March 5, 2015
I finally put on the second layer of newspaper:
Paper Mache Recycle Bin: Second Coat with Wide Strips of Newspaper

Reindeer Against the Watercolor Northern Lights Sky

This craft uses a watercolor background I made in a  Simple Craft: Little House in a Watercolor Aurora Borealis which has all the details.

Watercolor Craft: Little Igloo Under the Northern Lights is also a follow up from the Little House but is more similar to the reindeer craft here in that it has only two cut out pieces in the foreground.

Here's the background I chose for the reindeer.

Watercolor northern lights for a background

Then I cut out some snow and sketched a reindeer and cut it out too.

Here's the parts all put together, just glue them all on

Reindeer in the snow for the foreground

I got the idea of this particular reindeer from an old Reader's Digest I had in my cabinet near the Alaska postcards. On page 108 of Dec 2010/Jan 2011 is a picture of reindeer as an introduction to the article "Reindeer Country." I liked the sweet face of the reindeer closest to the camera and tried to sketch it, but the picture cut off part of it's body and I had to use my imagination. So I went on a hunt for children's books with good reindeer pictures.

The best I found is Ted Lewin's The Reindeer People (1994). His illustrations are from his paintings.

I also found a nice picture of "Santa Claus and his reindeer" on page 62 of Culture of the World: Sweden by Delice Gan and Leslie Jermyn (2003).

So if you are up to a free hand sketch, these pictures will give you a good idea of what real reindeer look like.

Back to Ted Lewin's book. I was happy to find his painting of the northern lights with a Lavu, which he explains is a herding tent of the Sami also known as Lapp people. His painting is a much lovelier example of northern lights in watercolor than mine.  :)

Watercolor Craft: Little Igloo Under the Northern Lights

Out of my artistic attempts at the aurora borealis from the last craft: Simple Craft: Little House in a Watercolor Aurora Borealis (in which I give much more detail about these aurora borealis crafts), I chose this one:

Watercolor Northern Lights

Then I cut out snow and an igloo, drawing snow bricks on the igloo with a pencil.

Placing the igloo and the snow

Next I put a little clear glue on a paper napkin and applied the glue with a cotton swab to both the snow and the igloo at the same time.

Apply the glue to both pieces at once

I placed the snow on the background first leaving the top edge turned back just a bit, so I could slip the bottom of the igloo under it.

Gluing on snow and igloo

When I had both pieces in the places I wanted, I smoothed the edges over.

Finished Igloo in the Snow Under the Northern Lights