It could not be easier to make a bit of collage style art from junk mail and old magazines.

A few days ago we were discussing art ideas in an upcycling/recycling group i'm in on Facebook and I mentioned this piece of art that I made for our hall when we first moved into our current house nearly 3 years ago. It was a guest post I'd done for The Pinning Mama and I realised I'd never shared it here. So let's put that right! 

This is SUCH a simple DIY art idea, you don't need any artistic skills at all - honest!

To make recycled magazine art you will need:

• A picture frame - a clip frame is ideal but you can use any kind

• Paper the same size as the frame (if your frame has paper in it already happy days - you can use that)

• Old magazines and Junk Mail

• Paper Glue - I used Pritt Stick

• A ruler, pencil and scissors or a guillotine

If your frame comes with a piece of paper in it already just flip that over and mark out an even grid on the back. The size of grid you mark out will depend a little on what size your frame is. 

My frame is 12" x 18" so I marked out 2" squares. 

You just want something that will fit evenly in the frame if possible, it'll just make it easier. You can always have part squares now the sides if absolutely necessary I suppose. It's entirely up to you. If your frame is paperless you'll need to cut a piece to fit then mark the grid on there. 

Once you've decided on your square size just cut out squares that size from your old magazines and junk mail. I went for a yellow theme to go with our table and mirror in the hall but you can literally make your art ANY colours you like. 

I enjoyed choosing a mix of recognisable items and close ups that appear quite abstract. I also printed a few speech bubbles on the computer with "Welcome" in a few different languages, as it's in the hall I thought that was appropriate. I found "Welcome" in an old dictionary and thesaurus too and cut those out as well.

Once you've cut a load of squares the fun can begin. Start arranging them on the paper grid , don't stick anything down to start with, just play around with the pieces until you are happy. 

Once the arrangement is perfect just stick the squares down with some paper glue. 

That's it - easy as that! Just pop the frame back together and hand your art on the wall with pride. 

For our artwork I 'hid' a picture or two especially for each member of the family too. Kind of like a yellow, personalised  "Where's Wally"! See if you can spot them: in the family we have a gym bunny, a mathematician, a photographer, a superhero fan and me (craft fanatic).

This art is still up in our hall at the moment, we are not people who redecorate all that often but this kind of art could be re done and changed up as often as you like. It's practically free to make which is always a good price! 

Cheap, easy and with almost unlimited variety - you can't ask for more than that! Do you have a bit of blank wall that needs a fun piece of recycled art?

This project was featured in Twinkl’s Recycle Week blog.

I'll be sharing this project at some of these link ups.