Creating Wall Decor With Old Magazines -Simple Recycled Art

Make what with what?!?!

This project takes little time, LOTS of old magazines, and a hot glue gun.

Art can be an incredibly expensive passion, so when I find something like this to work on, I must share my excitement. Not only can you find magazines (just about anywhere) that people have thrown out or are about to throw out, you can make really simple and beautiful wall art with these findings.

Supplies you will need for this craft:

old magazines, the more colorful the better
hot glue gun
a pen or marker to help mold the starting of your rolled magazine pieces
wire (completely optional- you can use this to secure your pieces together or enhance shapes and images you are trying to make stand out) I buy the dollar store steel wire to help me out with my magazine creations.
deep set picture frame ,aka shadow box (also optional, but this is my personal favorite)
any kind of paper trimmer or paper cutter

The Process: Getting your magazines ready to roll

I feel like I have a pretty solid system. Before starting on any project, I take at least 3 magazines (usually I do more) and start ripping the pages out like 5-6 each rip, then I place the pages on the paper trimmer and cut them exactly in half long ways. I do this to all of the pages in all the magazines. If the pages of your zines are pretty thick, I would go ahead and cut the half pages in half again long ways. This will ensure a smoother roll up.

Your first roll:

Grab one of your freshly cut pieces of magazine, fold it in half long ways, then fold the same piece in half long ways again. Next grab your pen or marker of choice, start wrapping your magazine piece around the marker, do a small dab of hot glue to secure the beginning of the roll. Continue rolling the piece around the marker until the end of the piece, then add a dab of glue to secure your roll. You can now slide your roll from the marker. You can use this piece as is, or continue adding more strips of your magazines to the desired circumference.

Extras to think about:

Personally I love making extremely different sized rolls. I find it gives the art more life and contrast. There are many little things to think about like :

using a pen or not to get your roll started- you could just start rolling the paper without a mold and this will create an enclosed center. I like both methods, but find that it looks a little neater to have the center holes be similar in size.
sorting colors of your magazine strips- remember you can always paint your strips too if you are wanting a certain color
organizing your rolls into recognizable shapes and symbols or just let it be abstract
doing different shapes like squares or triangles- I am not as good at these and love how tight and smooth I can get the circles
making your creation a free-standing piece or a framed work of art- I like both but have found the frames to be much easier to secure all the rolls together

As you can see, this piece is mixed with open and closed rolls…

Example- Framed Piece: (above)

If you decide to do something like this, I make somewhere between 100-200 rolls (depending on the size of my frame). Then I make sure the frame is stained a suitable color or paint it myself. In this piece I painted the frame with simple black acrylic paint. Once your frame is set, you can continue to use your hot glue gun to glue each roll down, OR my favorite method is to pour a generous amount of Modge Podge as a layer inside the frame and start setting each roll inside. This gives you the ability to squish them tighter together or change some around altogether without having to rip it apart from the hot glue.

If you are a fan of using resin, this would be a great addition to these too. Pour a nice thick layer of resin inside your frame, set the rolls, then once it dries your pieces will be nice and stuck together.

This is a free-standing piece that I have connected with wire

Example: Free-standing (above)

For this one, I rolled up my pieces first, then set them how I want them, then start hot gluing them together. Once they are all glued together, I go back with wire and link each piece, one by one.

This is my latest…the rolls are more even, and I was even able to create an owl outline.

Example- Framed with hidden image (above)

A close-up so you can see all the different wrapped layers.

You can do it !

These are a few of the things you can make with your old magazines and minimal supplies. Something so simple can become simply magical once you group them together.

I hope you found some inspiration for some of your “trash. Your rolls will get better with practice, and your visions of what can become of your magazine art will grow with possibilities.