Reduce, Re-Use, Repurpose, Re…where was I?

I am submitting this post for Mixed Media Monday and the recycling challenge this week. 

The latest swap I joined asks that we pick four items from a list of about ten and create something from each of the items.  Not the easiest task, since the list consists of items you’d normally throw away, such as bottle caps, empty packages, etc.  Yep, it’s a recycling swap!  A fun challenge.  (I can’t wait to see what I get back.)

The first item I chose was an empty gum package.  This used to hold pieces of Orbit, the gum with the distinction of having the most incomprehensible advertising ever.  It contains a bunch of tiny folded notecards.

This is the back (my swap partner likes owls).

Another item we could choose was a game piece. I had made some domino pins a couple of years ago, so that one was easy.

Another choice was magazine pages. I’ve been making magazine collages for awhile now; it’s a really fun challenge to make something using only magazine pages.  I normally choose a neutral background, like a landscape or a picture of fabric, then add people, animals, objects and/or words.  This one is an abstract, but it was a lot more time-consuming than the ones I normally do.

And finally, take a guess what this is made of!

I was taught how to make this little tag book by one of my newest pals, Nan. The wildly colorful one she made is on her blog and it’s just about the cutest thing ever.  Mine is a bit more subtle. 

Did you guess it’s made of cardboard tubes from toilet paper? (No, seriously.)