Collages are great for livening up any dorm room or apartment. They are fun and cheaper than buying a poster or piece of art. They can be crazy, artistic, themed, or inspirational. And the best part? There is no such thing as a bad collage! So grab your scissors and check out this guide to making a collage. It will guide you through the steps for making a piece of art!
1. Collect your materials.
Scan your favorite magazines and journals for pictures for your collage. Look for large, brightly colored images or words to tear out. From people to food, anything is fair game. To help narrow down your search, you can create a “theme” for your collage and look for images that way.
2. Cut
Because your pictures are going to overlap one another, you don’t need to cut out the images perfectly. I usually tear them out for a scrapbook type look. Just be careful not to tear off any lettering you might need!
3. Arrange
This is the most time consuming part. Place your pictures on the material that will act as the background for your collage. You can arrange your collage on a bulletin board, poster, canvas or blank pieces of printer paper. Start with your larger images first and start from one end of the board and work your way across. This is my method, but you can also start in the center and work your way outwards. Use the smaller images to fill in any holes or spaces. Each new picture should overlap the picture you placed down before it. It is entirely up to you how much you want them to overlap. Take your time rearranging the images; I have started a collage over countless times because it takes a while to get all the pictures to fit just right.
4. Paste.
Once you are happy with your arrangement, it is time to secure the pictures in place. Start in the same order you as you put down the images, working on each picture individually. Carefully lift the edges of the image and glue the corners and sides. I use a crafting glue stick, but liquid glue or tape can work as well. The key thing to remember is you don’t need that much glue. As long as the corners are secure, the overlapping pictures will help the ones underneath stay secure.
5. Accessorize!
Feel free to add your own pictures of you or your friends to your masterpiece. Personal tokens also add a nice touch, such as flowers, ribbons, stickers, medals, or pins. I found fun push pins at a craft store that I use to add some sparkle to my collage.
6. Enjoy
Let your first collage be your inspiration for future collages. Practice makes perfect. Once you work out the kinks on your first couple of collages, you will get faster at arranging and pasting, making the task more enjoyable. You can use this same method with any type of materials-postcards, newspaper clippings, etc. Experiment and let your creativity take over!