Plenty of artists have been doing it–making art from trash, I mean. The Web is alive with stories of it: Vivan Sundaram’s trash photography exhibits, as well as trash-to-art-object best-of lists from Noupe and WebUrbanist. Even ordinary folks are collecting pictures of amazing art being created from junk or trash via Pinterest or other such sites, like this list over on Indulgy.

What I love most about this new-old trend in art is that it encourages all of us to recycle and repurpose old things. Too often, we think of creativity springing from an eternally new source–art’s always somehow gotta be new new new and anything old is worthless. But this trash-to-art and junk-to-art movement helps us all revision items in new ways. The movement is even trickling down to children’s art projects through sites like Kid-At-Art.com, which shows kids how to recycle trash and junk and make it into something beautiful.

But how does this trash-to-art movement translate into doable creativity for the everyday crafter/artist? Simple–by saving up materials that others would likely throw away and making/decorating gifts for others, or making and decorating useful objects for your own home.

Upcycling: Recycling and Repurposing All in One

Upcycling, as this article from Shareable.net details, gives old items new purpose, or can give items bound for the trash a new lease on life. Say you’ve got a few random old items which still have some life in them, yet they need a little spiffing up. Upcycling can work for these–giving them a fresh coat of paint and revisioning them can give them a new place in your house!

Example #1: An old train case with a top handle can be cleaned out, repainted/refinished and made into a kid’s treasure box, storage for a teen’s small electronics, or even a mobile office-supplies carrier for your car.

Example #2: An old bread box can be repainted/refinished, then mounted on the wall near the front door as a family mail sorter/key holder…or you can mount it in the living room to corral all those remote controls…or you can put it in the bathroom for small toiletry items (like nail clippers) that always seem to get away!

Or, say you’ve got some items that aren’t in the best condition anymore, that used to hold stuff but don’t anymore, or that have some pieces missing. You can still upcycle these, if you allow yourself to think outside the box!

Example #1: Coffee cans (metal or plastic) can become pencil holders, mail sorters, snack transporters, trinket hiders–soak off the label, clean out the can, and you have a new storage container for just about any small objects!

Example #2: Old VHS or DVD cases can become storage for printed-out photos, important labels, bills, or anything else that needs to be kept away from sun, water, and dust till you can deal with them. Plus, you can slip a changeable label into the outside plastic clearly marking what’s inside!

Plus, what about all those used gift wrap and cards you find yourself swimming in after the holidays, or after birthdays or other special events? Instead of throwing it all away, how about taking a few of these tips:

• Save any like-new (read: not dented in/half-torn-up) gift bags, folding them up carefully and storing them away from dust and water; you’ll thank yourself when you need a gift bag next!
• Save all the tissue paper and scraps of wrapping paper, too. You can shred the wrapping paper and really torn tissue paper with a paper shredder to make basket or bag filler, and any tissue paper that is mainly crumpled rather than torn up can be used to fill out the tops of gift bags, or can even be fodder for other creative projects!
• If you like the picture on a card you’ve received, cut it out and refashion it as a gift tag, decoration for a notebook, or even frame it as art for your walls!

Summary: Upcycling is Crazily Creative!

With these ideas and more, you can make even your own junk pile transform into useful and pretty objects again. All it takes is a moment to stop and think, “Hmm…what could this become?”