Blogging A to Z: C is for Collage

April is here!! It's time for daily blogging, lots of visitors and meeting new friends.  In other words, time for the Blogging A to Z challenge hosted by Arlee Bird and his team of minions.  Thousands of other bloggers from all over the world participate in this blog hop each year, and anyone may join in as long as they blog each day during the month of April, (except Sundays) the blog posts correspond to the appropriate letter for that day, and they sign up on the link list. Simple!

I actually have quite a few words that relate to the letter for the day: Create, Color, Craft, Canvas... lots of artsy words begin with C.  But today I will try to focus. :)  Here is what the Free Dictionary has to say about my topic:

col·lage

  (kō-läzh′, kə-)

n.

1.

a. An artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface, often with unifying lines   and color.

b. A work, such as a literary piece, composed of both borrowed and original material.

2. The art of creating such compositions.

3. An assemblage of diverse elements: a collage of conflicting memories.

v. col·laged, col·lag·ing, col·lag·es

v.tr.

To paste (diverse materials) over a surface, thereby creating an artistic product.

v.intr.

To create such an artistic product.

My favorite use for collage is in mail art.  I like to cut up magazines, junk mail, catalogs, etc. and apply various pieces to the outside of an envelope.

Sometimes I use collage in my art, too.  It is the one time I don't feel guilty about using someone else's art. :)

Pieces I cut from stationary and a book page.

odds and ends from my table after a variety of other crafting experiments. I glued them all to a larger piece, then cut to ATC size 

This used a variety of materials, from scrapbooking paper to bits of an envelope that came in the mail (gold leaves). The skeleton is stamped and embossed on a piece of clear acetate, then cut. The tree is cut free-hand from wood veneer, and there is a piece of cork behind the skeleton's legs.  The birds are cut from a Martha Stewart border punch. The fern leaves behind the mushrooms are purchased embellishments by K & Co. 

This ATC used tissue paper on the back ground, some stickers, die cuts and washi tape. 

I have done a few collages on canvas, too. Here is one I really like:

This was my first canvas.  I have done a few others, but this one is still my favorite.  If I was doing it now, I would use some different things, but as a first try, I am pretty pleased.

Have you ever done collage? What is your favorite source for usable materials?