Don’t throw out recycle all those old magazines and advertisements just yet.

Turn them into colorful, decorative works of art, then toss the remains!

A few years ago, my wife and I were preparing a vast pile of inserts, magazines and other print-matter for removal. It had accumulated over the years, was taking up valuable space in our apartment, and needed to go. But before we pulled the lever, we spent a few hours cutting out all of the very red, very yellow, very green and very blue bits that we could find. When we had enough material to cover four 14-inch squares, we sent the rest to the recycle bin. Then we got to work.

After a full day of cutting, trimming and pasting, we came up with the four offerings you see here, which adorned our living room wall for several months. Each item was put into a thin black frame, with a very broad white matting. No paint or ink was used in the creations, we solely used clippings and paste.

I wish I had better photos of them, because I think they turned out quite vivid and interesting. But I photographed them at an angle, through glass, so some are a bit washed out. You can click each image to get a larger view.

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It was a lot of work, but it was also fun. I think the results are very interesting and the breakdown by color gave the project both a framework and a purpose.

Enjoy!