Altered art is experiencing a growing surge of popularity these days. Scrapbookers are no exception. Although ready-to-use embellishments are great options and often very affordable (especially if you catch sales or take advantage of coupons), there is something special about using a piece of altered art that you made yourself.

Not only are you being environmentally friendly by reusing and recycling, you are putting your personal "fingerprint" on a scrapbook layout in a way that could hever happen with a purchased embellishment.

The embellishment to the left is made from a piece of broken CD disk. If you heat old CDs in hot water, you can cut them more easily with craft scissors. I colored the piece of CD using craft paint. Next, I rubbed it with Versamark and then applied several coats of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE). While the UTEE was still wet, I applied black pigment ink to a rubber stamp, and stamped the hot enamel. When cool enough, I removed the stamp, then heated the surface with my heat tool until the UTEE melted slightly. I affixed tiny beads into the hot UTEE. The finished product is attractive and colorful. One could attach a pin at the back and use as a brooch. I opted to mat it on card-stock and use it as an embellishment in a scrapbook layout.

Old jewelry makes wonderful embellishments for your layouts. Use wire cutters to remove unwanted elements such as pins or earring wires, then decide how best to use your new found treasure.

In the picture shown, I cut the wires off a hoop earring. Next, I stamped a small leaf image on card stock, using blue pigment ink and a rubber stamp, I centered the earring so the stamped image showed through the hoop, then glued it in place. Lastly, I filled the hole with a dimensional product such as Crystal Lacquer and let it dry. Matted, the altered earring became a very attractive addition to a layout.

Formica chips, or the countertop samples found at home renovat8ion stores, make wonderful altered art embellishments. Extremely versatile, they lend themselves to many techniques and products.

The formica embellishment shown was altered in much the same way as the CD piece described above. I colored it with pale blue paint, applied Versamark, then used a mixture of clear UTEE and Gold Utee. As before, I stamped an image and then added a few beads in the still-hot UTEE. Lastly, when everything cooled, I attached a sticker reading "Peace" and tied a ribbon through the hole.