Green living is driven by the three “Rs”: reduce, reuse, recycle. Producing arts and crafts is a great way to meet all three Rs and gain hours of entertainment. You can create decorated items for display at home and involve your children in the activity. You can even make a few holiday gifts at very low out-of-pocket cost.Decopauge is a great example. The only materials needed are old magazines, a pair of scissors, some white glue and something to decorate. I’ve seen people use this art form on every kind of article from wooden boxes up to bed headboards.Once you have the item (or items) you want to decorate you can put them aside and start flipping through the magazines for pictures and words that jump up at you or help convey something you want to say. The great thing about decoupage is that there is no “wrong” way to do it. Some people will use an entire advertisement including the background in the ad. Others may cut out the person or object from the background. The idea is to have a piece of a page to be layered upon the object to be decorated.After you have cut out enough pictures and words you can begin to decorate your object. Everything is driven from this point on by your ideas and creativity. You can, for example, use all cut outs of flowers and birds to decorate your project, or you could cut out every picture of a dog and see how many you can use as you decorate your recycled art project.Arrange your clippings onto the surface of whatever it is you’re going to reuse or decorate and put a layer of glue over the entire project. Using white glue or Mod Podge will give you a clear coating over your art. When the first layer is dry, coat it again. Continue recoating until you are happy with the appearance. The coatings of glue will protect your artwork, and if you use a gloss-finish, your art work will have a nice shine to it, as well.My sister started making “Blessings Boxes” for the Christmas gifts that she would give to her children’s teachers. She reuses an old shoe box, and covers the entire outside of it with cut out pictures from magazines. The main objective was to cover up the shoe brand on the outside of the box with the pictures and words that adhered to a central theme. Memorable items, maybe a ticket stub to a baseball game or a birthday card or party invitation can be placed into the box as reminders of these events. The recipient can then open their “Blessings Box” to be reminded of the events or occurrences whenever they wish.Boxes can be made for many other purposes: treasure boxes for kids, storage boxes for photographs, birthday gifts for friends and family members. There are other similar ideas for reusing recycled materials for arts and crafts projects as well. The best part is that since all the materials are reused and recycled, no extra money is required to create these items. This is a great way to incorporate the three Rs into your green lifestyle.
Tag Archives: photography
Study at Home Digital Photography Classes
For anyone interested in study at home digital photography classes, there are a wealth of options available on the Internet. From professional online photography schools to free online photography lessons, there are truly more study at home digital photography classes available now than ever. Given that digital photographs are so widely distributed on the Internet, it makes sense that so many online resources are available.This article will guide you through the three most common options for study at home digital photography classes.Online Digital Photography SchoolsFor the serious student of digital photography, there are accredited universities that now offer entire photography degree programs online. The Academy of Art University, founded and based in San Francisco, CA, is one such school that offers a completely online photography degree program.The major curriculum is heavily focused on digital photography techniques and includes such classes as:- Digital Photography
- Photo shop for Photographers
- Digital Production for Photographers
- Advanced Digital PrintingIn addition to accredited schools that have a diploma program, there are also independent companies that offer certificates and instruction in digital photography. It is important to do some research to see if the company you are considering taking lessons from is an accredited institution that can offer a valid diploma or a private company offering instruction and certificates of completion.Online Digital Photography ClassesIf you are not looking to earn a degree in digital photography but still want to take a course taught by college-level professors, local community colleges and vocational-technical schools generally offer study at home digital photography classes either online or through other distance learning arrangements. Most four year universities also offer adult learning, noncredit courses available on the Internet or by correspondence.Free Online Digital Photography Lessons, Tips and ArticlesThere are also a sizable number of free study at home digital photography classes and lessons available on the Internet. Another great thing about these free offerings is that you can pick and choose from many different classes and take the courses or read the articles on your own time.One especially fantastic free online resource is the site http://www.shortcourses.com. Some of the lessons include:- Using Your Digital Camera
- Digital Photography
- Displaying & Sharing Your Digital PhotosAbout.com also has many articles available on their site; you can either search for “digital photography” using their site search tool, or visit http://photography.about.com for general and digital-specific photography lessons, tips and articles. A Google search for “digital photography lessons” will also yield many different results for you to read and learn from.ConclusionThanks to the far reach and convenience of the Internet, study at home digital photography classes and lessons are easily available for you to pursue on your own time. In addition to the resources listed above, you will find that there are many wonderful communities out there that will also guide you in your quest to learn and master the art of digital photography.