Make your own scrap board
There are many ways in which we can make our lives more aesthetic and appealing. All you have to do is use some creativity. We all have a lot of old greeting cards, table calendars and pictures that have we don’t like parting with.
Many a times, this collection of ours never sees the light of day basically because many of us do not really know how to display them.
Here is a idea which follows the mantra of recycling which can put these lovely pictures on display.
Bring out all the pictures that you treasure and sort them out in terms of either size, theme or colours. Then bring out a pair of scissors and cut the pictures out from the cards and calendars either in geometrical shapes or as silhouettes.
Then prepare a gum using maida. Boil a little water, add a tablespoon of the maida flour along with a pinch of pesticide powder and stir the contents till it reaches the consistency of glue. The pesticide in the glue will protect the work of art from insects in the future.
Scrap board
You will need a large plank of unused plywood or a side board. If you do not have either of them, you could use the broad side of a large carton as a base. Once you have decided the base, bring out all the pictures and place them randomly on the base. See to it that no space is left free and the entire picture looks like one large collage. You can arrange and re-arrange the pictures in several ways till it looks attractive and meaningful to you. Once you are satisfied with the outcome, apply the home made glue generously on the back of each picture and stick them firmly on the board. After each picture is fixed on the board, use a rag cloth to wipe the picture over so that it does not crease because of excess of gum or wetness and proceed to stick all the pictures in the said manner. If you have enough number of pictures, you can work on same lines on the other side of board too. Once the board looks complete find a bright colour satin ribbon or a strip of 3D stickers and fixes them along the borders using fevicol. These borders not only highlight your work but will also lend a neat and professional touch to your scrap board. This board can be used as a makeshift door for your cupboards or can be placed in the children's room, common foyer, corridors or even the living room in a strategic point. The motley pictures stuck together can be interpreted in many different ways and will prove to be a cynosure for adults and children alike. These scrap boards can be of immense use and can trigger off games to people of all age groups.
For instance small children could be asked to identify the animals, flowers, birds and other such objects in the pictures. They could be induced into counting or identifying colours.
Older children could be inspired to imagine a story or write a poem on the same. The adults could try out story telling or philosophise looking at these boards. The scrap boards can be also done in another way by using cut-outs.
Cut-out scrap boards
The basic materials needed for this kind of scrap board will be quite the same but you will need a little more patience and perseverance while working on this. Pick up your pair of scissors and cut out the pictures along the outline and mount them individually on thermocol you may have stashed away or on thick card board. Once again, cut the silhouette along the outline using hack saw blade if necessary. This time around, take your scrap board and stick a bright coloured cloth over the board using fevicol.
It will be preferable to use polyester material on such occasions. Now take out the cut outs and place them in such a manner that it appears two or more creatures or people are facing each other as if in conversation. This time around you can space the cut outs in such a manner that there will be some space to stick pieces of conversations in bubbles as they are done in comic books.
If you have a collection of jokes, you can put them to use or you can download jokes from the Internet and use them relevantly.
Take out a sheet of plain paper in a colour of your choice and write out pieces of the dialogue and cut them out carefully.
Paste these bubbles at strategic points making it appear as if the characters in the silhouettes are having a conversation.
These cut out scrap boards can be a great source of information and entertainment not only in homes but also in schools, offices and malls.
You will find your recycle mantra not only a refreshing change from your regular routine but will also find the exercise meaningful, relaxing and eco-friendly.