It has become increasingly important for me to consider sustainable sourcing for my supplies, and I experiment with techniques and recycling materials either from my own supplies or thrift stores and also revisit unfinished projects for renewed inspiration.
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Managing Waste for Creative - Projects Material Musings
It has become increasingly important for me to consider sustainable sourcing for my supplies, and I experiment with techniques and recycling materials either from my own supplies or thrift stores and also revisit unfinished projects for renewed inspiration.
Monday, 15 April 2024
Fabric Art and Slow Stitching Projects - Material Musings
Welcome to Material Musings, where we embark on a journey through the exciting world of fabric art! From exploring various fabric products to delving into inspiring books for creative sparks, there's so much to discover together.
I am currently immersed in several fabric art projects, and we will be choosing a few to work on over the next couple of weeks. I will be adding some additional stitching and also going though my bead selection.
Check out the video above and I have included time stamps in the video description to make for easier viewing.
Check us out on the FREE membership on Patreon for some tips for you to consider while on the stitching journey: - Check it out Here
Embrace Imperfection
Experiment with Texture
Dragonfly stitched project - https://youtu.be/8Zody9EG9Z4
Red Bead Stitched Project - Part 1 https://youtu.be/aiqsmpk8D8s Part 2: https://youtu.be/PsHo0cntWIE Fabric Kits/course to purchase: https://realityarts.thinkific.com/courses/fragments
The Ultimate Flower Book - https://amzn.to/49FS2To
Creative Applique to Make and Wear - Hardcover - https://amzn.to/3JqmVR3
Stitch inspiration: Bianca Springer @thanksimadethem on IG or https://biancaspringer.com/ I am teaching - Check out my FREE Courses HERE - https://realityarts.thinkific.com/ Thank you for joining me in my art studio. We all have 5 minutes that we can give to creative play, why not see how you can fit creativity into your every day Subscribe Here http://youtube.com/amandatrought For More inspiration please visit my Patreon page HERE. https://www.patreon.com/realityarts
Check out Bianca Springers Book 'Represent - Embroidery' on Amazon HERE
Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Creating a Recycled Art Journal - Use those Catalogues!
Welcome to my latest art project where we will be creating a recycled art journal using an old catalog.
This project is quick, easy and affordable, and the best part is that nothing will be wasted! You get to use some of those store catalogues that you have been collecting and create some wonderful projects.
To start, find yourself an old catalog, like this Tesco's home catalog that I'm using. The first thing you need to do is rip out about half of the pages. This is because we'll be adding collage and texture to the pages, so you want to make sure you have enough space to work with. Go through the catalog and rip out every 2-3 pages. I save the ripped out pages to use later.
Once you have removed the pages, stick together sets of 2 or 3 pages depending on where you ripped them out. Allow the pages to dry and then reinforce the spine with some masking tape on the inside. If you are going to be adding paint it stops any bleed through on the other pages.
With the pages left over, look through them and cut out images or words that speak to you. I select colorful patterns and shapes and these will form part of your collage. This is a great way to still create something without having to have a lot of art supplies or anything fancy. All you need is a catalog, glue, and some basic tools.
Come and join me in the next video, I'll show you how to work on some of your pages, and ideas from other recycled journals that I have created. This art journal will be a space for you to fill up over time, write down your thoughts, and enjoy the creative process. It's all about play, so have fun with it!
Monday, 11 July 2022
Material Mondays - Working with Fabric Pens
Welcome to Material Mondays this week where we look at working with Fabric pens to create designs on our fabric pieces.
You can use them as a layer on your fabric or as a finishing touch. I like to add stitching as well as other elements.
Amazon has a wide selection of fabric pens that have dual uses - you can check some of them out here - https://a.co/bNs0Iya
Material Mondays
You can also check out some of the other videos in the Material Mondays Series below.
Week 1
Check out the free resources listing in the side bar of the Blog and sign up for one of the FREE courses.
Monday, 30 May 2022
Free Mixed Media Art Resources
Wednesday, 1 February 2017
Toilet Roll Journal 2 - 31 Creative things to do with Recycled materials

So you got some more toilet rolls hanging around, lets see what else you can do with them.....simple...create another journal, a bigger one this time!
Toilet Roll Journal 2
Recycled Journal |
In 31 Creative things to do with Recycled materials I have been showing you different things that I have made that you can try for yourself or a project with children, as a gift, that can impact where you live, your environment and more - you know it!
This journal came about in a very similar way to the Journal I showed you yesterday and you can see just how I put it together HERE.
On the front of the journal you can see that I used Quinoa to decorate the front, again using something that you may have in your home supplies that you might ordinarily throw away. Think about the different things that you have that can create texture or add something different to your project.
Front Detail - Toilet roll journal |
back detail - Toilet Roll Journal |
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Toilet Roll Journals - 31 Things to Create with Recycled Materials

Cardboard arts and craft activities are great ways of making things that not only children can enjoy but also adults as well.
I found a great way of using something we have around us and use every day and these often end up in the bin. I started looking at these as a possible craft addition when I saw some of these Craft Ideas on Pinterest I ended up making an art journal, with inserts that you can use for tags and special notes I shared how I made this Journal in a post HERE I will be doing a video so that you can see all the contents and the different tags.
Join me tomorrow where I show you another Journal Making idea from Toilet tube roll and whether you are re-purposing, reusing or altering, you can make something that is unique to you.
Monday, 30 January 2017
Art Journal - 31 Things to Create with Recycled Materials -

John Lewis Journal
I picked up a while ago a John Lewis catalog after a visit to the store with my sister. I had also joined their loyalty program and received my complimentary tea and cake voucher, which they send out I think 4 times a year – which was yummy by the way (everything in moderation)!
Recycling can come in all shapes and forms and as you would have seen over the last few weeks if you can think of a creative problem or something you need to make you can probably use a majority of the things you have around you.
After looking through the catalog it sat around my house for over a week. I thought of some of the things that I could do with it and making a journal was what I really wanted to do, but I wanted the kind that you could use the background images as a place to start, and you could also completely go over the page with gesso and create your own image.
John Lewis Journal - Recycled creatively |
What I liked about the pages was the feel and the thickness, it holds gesso well, and it had some interesting images, and this allowed you to add to the image using art supplies.
Page to add gesso to |
Were you allowed to jump on your parents bed? |
Here are some other ways in which I altered the pages, I enjoyed placing the characters within the picture and thinking about what their story was.
Sunday, 29 January 2017
31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Tea Bags
Tea as you know like many people is something I usually drink every day, and I have my favorites that I like. Every now and then we buy a different variety tea, and for some reason or another no one in the house wants to drink it and it passes the sell by date. Now I am sure you can guess what is coming next…there are so many things that you can do with an empty unused tea bag! They are really versatile, and I will show you one of the ways in which you can put them to good use.
The tea bags by the way can go in the garden and depending on the bag decompose quite well (great for roses I hear). But you want to make something creative with them don’t you?
Tea Bag Treasures

Check out my post HERE for some step by step instructions. With the bags I have I enclosed them with words of encouragement, added texture and paint. On these ones I added the quinoa – I had so much (again out of date) to get rid of!
Can you see a creative possibility in more things now?
There are so many things you have around you are screaming to be altered, reused and re-purposed, and I often tell Alan and Sekani that if they stand still for too long around me I will be seeing if I can find a creative use for them as well (smile). There are a wealth of possibilities when we experiment with recycled materials, come back tomorrow to see what else I have got up to with my supplies.
Why not join me on some of my other platforms, and sign up to my Mailing list you will be getting information about what I am up to in my creative journey, tutorials, Arts and health advice and resources, giveaways and more
Stay blessed and be a blessing
Amanda
Saturday, 21 January 2017
31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Material - Tea Boxes
What are you going to do with your empty tea boxes that you have, throw them away, recycle, put them in the compost or do you make something from them? Yesterday I showed you a way to alter them and make something crafty, here are a few other ways.
Always one for experimenting I wanted to see how many different ways the tea boxes could be decorated based on some of the supplies that I have. Whatever you have in your craft supplies there are some amazing techniques to try.
Here are 4 ways that I decorated mine so far, this is a great way to use up some of those smaller pieces of your supplies – paper, embellishments that may be too small for one of your larger projects but may be just right for this one. (No it isn’t an excuse to start to hoard, though it can sometimes feel as if you are surrounded by a mound of ‘use it for later’ supplies).
I will be doing a series around the tea and tea boxes, so watch this space, and even follow along. I might even do a monthly tea box challenge with some giveaways each month!
So for the boxes I covered this one with handmade paper, brads and topper that was a free decoupage topper form a magazine. (You can make your own decorative paper with painted recycled paper. I then tool string and beads to decorate the front, and stamped the inside with a homemade stamp.
Quinoa Box
When I had loads of outdated quinoa, I wanted to use it to make a creative covering for the box and applying glue sprinkled it all over and let it dry. I then finished off with broken jewellery, ribbon and another homemade mini box.
Friend Box
Covered with stamped masking tape and glitter paper, with a tag on the top with the stamped message of friendship. I also used a clay embellishment on the top.
Sequin Box
This has handmade paper, paint, sequins and an encouraging word tag on the top. If you keep the embellishments simple your box will last longer and be more sturdy. It is great fun having these decorative containers and it would be great to do a series.
Friday, 20 January 2017
31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Spiced Tea Box
Great ways to alter your teabox! |
Recycling at its best! |
Over a period of time I got through so many boxes that I thought it was time to create something out of one of them.
I kept the structure of the box with all its parts as I didn’t need it to close but to house supplies that were quite tall, such as paint brushes and things that I use on a regular basis.
I used brown paper on the box to get the texture and then added gesso it. You can see instructions HERE
Choosing the lettering |
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Tea Box Treasures - Amanda Trought - Realityarts |
Again, a great way to use recycled materials, for your own space and they can make lovely gifts and you can add your own style. Join me tomorrow for another creative recycling idea.
For more inspired recycling ideas and useful tips check out Zero Waste Barbados and Journey to Zero Waste
Have a look at some of my ideas on my Pinterest Recyled Board
Stay blessed and be a blessing!
Thursday, 19 January 2017
31 Creative Things to do with Recycled Materials - Alcohol Marker Holders
When I make something out of recycled materials I get a real kick, knowing that I have created something that I want, worked out how it needs to be put together, and so been resourceful, and also that I have created something that has another use from its' original intended form.
After I had made the first free-standing pen holder, there was nothing stopping me from making another one. I allowed some of my supplies to dictate slightly how it would look. I really loved the way it turned out and it means that my pens do not have to be stuck in a draw taking up valuable space for something else.
The cartons are made from a durable waterproof material, and they don’t readily get recycled here, so I knew I needed to find a way to use them rather than throw them away in the bin, (honestly I am not a hoarder). I think there has to be more government initiatives and more of us have to think about just exactly we are throwing away and use less packaging where possible. What if your rubbish was put in a hole in your back yard, you’d soon run out of space and who would want to live with that, you would soon find a use for more things that you ordinarily throw away.