First let me wish the crew Merry Christmas and have a happy and safe Holiday Season.

Since this is the month of December and at some point a gift may pass our hands. I got to thinking we as crafters, artists, hobbyists and any other creative labels have the perfect inventory for gift giving to our creative buddies.  I know that anyone who partakes in workshops or art classes probably has an art stash that could help rebuild a major retail craft business in the event of low inventory. (Smile). So why not create some awesome emergency mixed media art or collage art kits, that your recipient would surely love to receive. I know I've been to workshops that a kit like this would have been very useful. So much easier than trying to buy all those bits and baubles.

First thing to do is to organize the stash you no longer have a need for. Paper, broken jewelry, ribbons, stamps (tip: stamp some of your favorite stamps on tissue paper, great for decoupage), beads, paint, glue etc.

Evaluate them and sort. New, barely used, not useful to you (one man's trash), and items that may have lost their appeal to you.

Tip: Partially used scrap paper cut up into squares bundle with ribbon. Place strips of scrap paper in a small bag.

Once you've done this use one of those photo boxes you bought and never used (smile). An old or new canning jar or spaghetti sauce jar works good too. Decorate the container so the recipient can reuse it for storing future items. Think of what your recipient likes to create. Gather items from your stash and fill the box or jar. Create a tag that has the message "Emergency Mixed Media Kit".  The next time your buddy needs bits and baubles for a project or workshop they will know exactly what to grab.

Tip: Great gift for elementary school teachers, senior centers, community after school programs etc.

A saying I use all the time is "if life gives you scraps, create something with them"!

For more information on Art Journal Pockets visit Art Journal Pockets- Tangie Baxter & Co..

[posted by Kimberly]