Many people may be frightened to try their first collage.  I tried mine back in the mid 1960's when I was in junior high.  I began by cutting out images I liked from magazines.  Looking back on those collages today, two things come to mind.  One, the glossy paper is not my favorite, but - two - surprise!  they are actually kind of a historical piece!  If you weren't around way back then, you may only be able to imagine some of the "groovy" images in the magazines during the 1960's.  There were lots of images of girls with long, straight hair, psychedelic kinds of prints and paisley clothing, and lots of color! 

Another collage/decoupage project was covering an old wine bottle (I believe it was an empty bottle of Mateus Rose' with magazine cut outs)  It took me a long time to cover the bottle, and now I will have to look in Dad's attic to see if it's still around.

Fast forward to 2004  - and I have rediscovered collage. Now, it is somewhat easier - because there are some great scrapbooking papers available on Ebay and in scrapbooking and paper arts stores. 

Some rules I follow for collaging are to keep the colors in the same tones, same theme, and most importantly; to know when to stop.  I love embellishments of all kinds including postage stamps, coins and fibers.  But, remember to look at the piece you are working on both up close and from a distance to decide if you want to keeping adding material to it.

Sometimes the best collages are the simplest ones. Also, overdoing it can cause it to become cluttered and can take away from the theme or colors.

For some interesting collages try them on different surfaces.  Get creative and cover a cigar box or a paint can!  Use recycled materials like wine bottles or buy an inexpensive plastic watering can.  The possibilities are endless.

Collaging is lots of fun, and there are so many items available on Ebay, you can become addicted - but that's a good thing!  Have fun.