Imagine gathering an eclectic mix of materials, bundling them together, burying them in your garden for a couple of months, and letting nature do its thing. What kid wouldn’t want to do that? This experiment with nature is called an erosion bundle, and can provide some very interesting supplies for collage making later on. It’s also an opportunity to show kids what kind of effect the elements will have on the materials, as decay and decomposition take hold. I first came across this idea on a blog called The Erosion Bundle Project and couldn’t resist trying it out.
This bundle was buried yesterday, and will remain there until the end of October, just in time to make a Halloween collage. So keep that in mind when choosing your materials, and stay tuned for the big reveal!
Materials
- old dishcloth or fabric to wrap materials in
- string or yarn to tie bundle
- collage materials for bundle (see below)
- chicken wire and wire cutters (optional)
Instructions
1. When choosing your materials, consider how they will be changed by exposure to the elements. Try to find things that have the potential of creating interesting colours and textures. Here are some suggestions based on visiting a number of blogs: fabric, lace, paper, maps, photographs, drawings, coloured tissue paper, tea bags, coffee grounds, coloured spices (e.g.tumeric), nails (to make rust), old keys, pages from phone books, flowers, berries, wood, slices of apples, lemons or oranges, halloween webbing, etc.
2. Once you’ve chosen the materials, lay them out on an old cloth, then cover and tie string or yarn around to create a bundle. If you like, you can also use chicken wire to protect it from animals, especially if you’re including food. You can also try branches from rose bushes to deter the little critters.
I covered mine with chicken wire because of the raving lunatic squirrels that inhabit my garden. Seriously. One day, my daughter came running over to tell me that a squirrel was sitting on the kitchen counter eating our chocolate. WTF? Like any good mother, I went and hid in the bedroom, called out to my son and told him to get rid of it. He went up to the squirrel, gently asked him to leave, and he actually did! The boy who spoke to animals… Terry, who was so named because he terrorized us for months, sneaked in a few more times before vanishing. Alas, he has likely passed on since we have been squirrel free for some time now, and can probably fix the holes he made in our window screens.
With or without wire, you’ll need to find a spot in your garden where the bundle can remain for a couple of months undisturbed, and well exposed to the elements. I made a shallow space in the ground, rested the bundle inside, added a small amount of soil on top, and finally a stone to hold it in place. You can also hang it from a tree if you prefer. I’m just hoping mine is still there tomorrow. Forgot about the raccoons.
Remember to keep an eye on the bundle, and remove it sometime during the third week of October. I will post the results of this one, and do a halloween collage project using the materials. Good luck!
ArtClubBlog 
Loved your squirrel story…crafty buggers aren’t they.
Can’t wait to see how your bundle turns out!
They are crafty buggers! I’m looking forward to seeing the results, and hoping there aren’t too many bugs inside. Eeeew!
i look forward to seeing how this turns out, i did one a few months ago and i left it out for ages, we had so much rain that when i opened it, i was disappointed, i think it had been too wet
I’m so glad you mentioned that. I felt water would be good to encourage a little rot, and since it’s so dry here right now I decided to water it. I guess I’ll restrain myself in the future! Thanks for sharing.
alittle water does good to help any colours bleed into the fabric but with mine i think too much rain just washed them out again 😦
Thanks for letting me know. Any bit of advice helps. I was surprised to find so many people disappointed with their results when looking into it on the internet. Maybe it requires a really long time outside – like a year. Still looking forward to seeing what 2 months can do.
apparently tissue paper will bleed out the colour so im going to try that next time, also rusty nails/objects work well too
I actually thought the same thing about tissue paper, but I only had pale colours lying around. I did include some, but it certainly won’t have the same effect as brights. Next time…
ive just made another today using tissue paper, rusty nails, string and various types of fabric. its raining now so hoping the colours run well!
Good luck with it. Hope you post the results. I’d love to see how it turns out.
This is really cool! I think Little Girl and Mama will be trying this out for sure!
I hope you do make one. I’m really looking forward to seeing how things turn out!
wow, this is very interesting. I’m curious to see how your bundle turns out, and what you make out of it 🙂
~Lisha
I have raving lunatic squirrels in my yard too. Right now there are two that are on a bird feeder eating food out of a bird feeder that’s suppose to be squirrel free feeder :-{. I am sure interested to see how this turns out and what creative way you’ll use them. Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!
I just knew I couldn’t be the only one bothered by these crazy creatures! I’m also very curious to see how this bundle turns out 🙂
This is such a great project. I was laughing at your squirrel story. The squirrels in my yard torment the dogs. I also have racoons, foxes, and coyotes. Nothing would be safe in my yard, oh and I forgot the geese. i live on a lake. I can’t wait to see your finished project. Thank you so much for sharing with Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party last week. This weeks Link Party is opened at
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/09/simple-anti-aging-moisturizer-and.html
from Wednesday until Sunday.
Hope to see you there.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
http://www.adornedfromabove.com
I’m so glad you liked it. I suppose the collection of crazy animals is the price you have to pay for living near a beautiful lake. You’d think the coyotes would keep everything else away though! Thanks for hosting and giving everyone an opportunity to share.
I so love this project! I also think it would be great for the kids to learn about what the different kinds of weather does. Thank you so much for linking up your wonderful tutorial to Creative Thursday last week. I can’t wait to see what you link up this week. I wouldn’t be able to do these wonderful parties without your participation. Have a wonderful week.
Michelle
Oh, I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I love the idea of it. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
First of all, I adore your sense of humor – (the squirrel story!). Secondly, I cannot wait to see where you go with this next month! Great idea to tie it in with Halloween!
Thanks Joyce. I’m really curious to see how things turn out as well. I thought the weather might be too dry to change anything inside that bundle, but now I think it’s too wet! At least it’s still where I left it, and the crazy critters haven’t taken off with it.
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