Marie’s Craft Corner, by Marie Hueston

Recycle magazines and catalogs into Valentine collages!

This year, create one-of-a-kind Valentines for friends, family, and significant others using the art of collage and the printed materials you have on hand. It’s fun, easy, and inexpensive. Here’s how to get started:

Collect magazines and catalogs. To find collage materials in our part of Brooklyn, you don’t have to spend any money. Many people put magazines out on a stoop, in a trash room, or by the curb when they’re finished with them, and street corner newsracks offer free copies of Brooklyn Parent, Brooklyn Family, and other publications. Add to this any catalogs you may receive in the mail and you’ll be able to accumulate a good stack to work with.

Prepare paper hearts. You can either buy pre-cut hearts (Paper Source on the corner of Smith and Pacific Streets sells a packet of 10 cardstock hearts for $7.95) or you can cut your own out of construction paper using the old trick of folding the paper in half, drawing half of a heart, and cutting along the line.

Arrange your materials on a table. Once you have your magazines and paper hearts ready to go, you’ll need scissors, glue sticks, and markers or crayons to add written messages to your Valentines. Consider covering the table with a tablecloth or newspaper to keep glue off the surface. Chocolates or conversation hearts can be a nice addition to the table as well, especially if you’re inviting friends to join you!

Start cutting! There are two main categories to look for when making a Valentine collage: One is decorative objects like flowers, jewelry, or hearts and the other is words and letters. Words we associate with Valentine’s Day are natural choices, like LOVE, FRIENDS, SWEET, and TRUE, as are the letters B, F, O, and X because they can be used to make BFF or XOX. You can even find names—an ad for Ralph Lauren, for example, can be used to personalize a card for someone named Ralph or Lauren.

Look for images with personal meaning. Keep an eye out for pictures that hold special significance for you and your Valentines, like a favorite food, hobby, or pet. Landmarks from the places you’ve lived or travelled to—or hope to travel to someday—also work well.

Play with placement before gluing things down. Once you find the words and images you want to use, place them onto your heart and move them around until you find a composition you’re happy with, then glue them in place one by one.

Add a written message. You can write on the same side as your collage or on the back of it. Consider the thickness of your paper before writing anything. Markers may bleed through to the other side of construction paper but will probably not be visible through cardstock. Experiment with a spare piece of paper before you begin.

Share your creations. Send pictures of your collages to our editor at [email protected]. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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