Collage Challenge

 I clicked on a YouTube video a couple weeks ago out of curiosity. Turns out it was about a mini collage challenge that consisted of a once-a-week collage on 4"coasters. Each week there would be a list of five items that needed to be in the collage plus one bonus item.

It sounded interesting but it wasn't until I saw it again the next week that I decided I would accept the challenge. Since I didn't catch this channel until they were already on week 4, I was now 5 weeks behind. I ordered coasters and started to dig through my rainy day supply of "stuff." 

I decided it didn't matter which week I did first as long as I got caught up and since I found things that worked for week #3, that's where I will begin on this post. 

The list designed for this collage is shown below.

These are the things I chose for my first go at this.

I found the flag first. It is tattered looking so I thought it would be perfect for an aged look. The second item was the photo. Obviously taken some time ago and is not anyone I know. It had a decorative paper frame on it. I cut that away because leaving it would have made it too large for size of the circle. It was also too thick so I removed the layers of paper backing with an exacto knife. I also softened the edges by toasting them on the stove burner. Next came the eagle. I found this in a very old book (copyright 1928) with very brittle pages. 

In case you are curious, the inside looks like this:

As I started to cut around the wings of the eagle, I realized the image would be in shambles in no time. So I used some gel medium to adhere it to a piece of the tissue paper that is #5 on the list. That really helped to hold it together so I could finish with the scissors.

The next item was the grocery list. This was the oddest item IMO. However, as I was looking through my scraps of everything imaginable I found this small piece of paper with words written in pencil and...not in English.

I took a guess that this was written in French and that some of these items might just be things you would find at a food market. I was able to decipher enough to google some of the words and I came away with my grocery list of:  spinach, apricots, yogurt, parsley, carrots, and legumes. What are the chances?

The background needed to be a page from an old book. I found a page that was explaining that during the war women, who had male relatives fighting, would wear a badge to show that they were supporting the men. Not much of the text is visible in the finished product but it still made sense to me to use that page as that was my tie-in to the photo.

The tissue paper I used to pull the parts together and cover a spot where the text didn't reach into the curve of the circle.

It took a big of juggling to place the items, but here is how it landed. 

I moved on to week 1 challenge but had everything glued in place before I realized I had not taken pictures of the individual items on the list. So I decided to add it to this post as it will be a bit shorter.

Challenge #1             1. A historical figure

                                    2. Decorative napkin

                                        3. A magazine ad with bold text

                                            4. Clock or time piece

                                                5. Something found in the sea

                                                    6. Bonus: A ticket

Here you have it with all the pieces glued into place.

The historical figure is a statue of David and the "D" at his feet is from a napkin.

The background is an ad for a beautiful granite with the words, Perfected in Italy.

The little circle on top of the ticket is a clock that I cut from a photo of a building.

And what started the collage was the picture of Venice, something found in the sea.

The train ticket is not authentic but rather something I had from collage materials.

I almost have week 4 figured out so that will be in the next post.