Really cool trash

I'm excited to be part of the 2010 Sketchbook Project (see here for more details).  There were tons of categories to sign up for; I chose "I'm a Scavenger" because, well, I'm a scavenger.  I love finding oddball bits and bobs on the ground, on the beach, in my junk mail pile...

My sketchbook is due back at Sketchbook Headquarters at the end of the year, so my plan (and it's working perfectly) was to gather up a big bag of scavenged treasures during the summer and then work on my journal in the fall. 

Curious about what I'd amassed so far, I emptied out my bag o' goodies and found I really had collected some cool stuff to work with.  Given my obsession with sorting art supplies by color, here's a sampling of what I've collected so far:

A new obsession...SECURITY ENVELOPES!  They are so cool inside.  They almost make getting bills fun...almost.

Now I know the first question you're going to ask is, "Hmm, if you're supposed to put your payment into these envelopes and mail them, and you have so many unmailed envelopes, just how many unpaid bills do you have?"  Never fear, Gentle Readers, one gets many more requests for payment than one actually owes (suspicious "charities", magazine renewals, "If you act now" credit card offers...) so one may accumulate a healthy pile of security envelopes without ruining one's credit score.

Here's an assortment of snippets of brochures, junk mail, catalogues, used label detritus, an old bookmark and burst balloons:

A disassembled greeting card and root beer carton along with a velvet watch band, fake credit card, gift tag and empty matchbook:

More security envelopes...isn't the variation in design amazing?  My favorite is the 4th from the right that looks like little penguins. 

Inserts from a pair of gloves, airtight aluminum seal from a big can of peanuts, cording from an old tote bag:

More cool stuff tomorrow...