Anybody can make a collage – you don’t have to be an artist, and you don’t need lots of expensive materials and equipment. You probably already have everything that you need for collage-making in your home.

A collage is really a collection of bits and pieces stuck together to make a picture.

The materials that you can use are limitless: different types of paper, fabric, photos, buttons, wool, string, twigs, leaves, broken jewellery, bits of wire….. basically, anything that you can stick to a piece of card can be used.

This is a really simple collage that I have made. You might not like it, but it demonstrates how easy these are to make, and might inspire you to make one that you do like!

Finished collage (bear optional) – I used sticky pads to stick collage to cardboard to give a raised effect – this will have to do until I decide on whether to have a frame for it.

Firstly, I cut out some bits of magazine. It is amazing the varied pictures that you find – so many beautiful colours, patterns and textures. When you see them as a whole page they are easy to overlook, but when you cut them out, the possibilities of how you can use them in your collage become apparent.

I laid out pieces with similar colours onto white paper and moved them around until I thought I had a possible picture. I was aiming for a pleasing image, not a work of art, and this is what makes them fun to do. They don’t have to look like anything!

I snipped a few into shape, leaving a few rough edges (they don’t matter), then cut the side out of a cereal box and stuck all my pieces to it. I use PVA glue, as it works well and dries to a clear finish.

When the glue is dry, trim to size. At this stage, you can decide whether to add anything. Often I draw lines or squiggles with a metallic pen, but I am leaving this as it is at the moment – I can always stick some extras on at a later date.

Why not have a go? It certainly won’t cost much, and there is no harm done if it doesn’t work out as you had intended. It is a great way of having a go at something that you might not have tried before, and you might even end up with a masterpiece!