A good-sized part of any sewists fabric collection is scraps, pieces that range from long strings trimmed to square up edges to odd-shaped sections left after rounding a corner. Add in all the bits of thread, yarn, and selvages that go in the scrap bin and it becomes an out-of-control heap pretty quickly. I occasionally dip into my bin for pieces large enough to sew with, but those unsewable pieces left behind have been getting out of control. After finding an unframed art canvas on the sidewalk, I had an idea how to put some of those bits to work.
Although the canvas was already decorated, it was all very light and, I knew, would blend well into whatever I decided to put over it. Over the course of several days, and with the help of my son and a couple other kids at the park, I got to work making my own scrap art. The first thing we did was to color a bit with crayons directly on the canvas. It wasn't much (and most of it isn't even noticeable on the finished piece), but it was a great warm-up. Next up was some white glue and sand. I told the kids to draw with glue and then cover it with sand. They had lots of fun with this. They tell me Spider Man is there, as well as some family members and random squiggles. The final layer was done by just Goen and myself one evening. He wielded the glue bottle and I handed him bits and pieces to put on top. I made a few adjustments and additions here and there as well to make sure everything was stuck down and there were no awkward gaps.
The piece is now hanging behind our kitchen table where we can see it every day. The combination of color, texture, and dimension makes me smile whenever I look at it. I loved the process of making it and I'm pretty happy with the result as well. I'll probably have to make a couple more, though, if I want to put a bigger dent in my tiny-scrap bin.
