Trashmash= Donna Grimstvedt's paper mache like mix to build jewelry with.
I've gotten a couple of her e-books in the past, and this technique just fascinates me. She's a hypertufa artist, and her enjoyment of hypertufa inspired a jewelry technique that works much the same way, but instead of being made with cement, it's a mix of reclaimed foam from packaging and white glue.
This book goes into a lot of details about different techniques you can use to make lightweight jewelry using both reclaimed materials and inexpensive supplies that are easy to find. It's in full color and over 170 pages of instruction, inspiration, techniques, templates and art. Her light conversational manner makes it very easy to read and understand and she is always willing to answer emails and to help you out. She's absolutely enthused about her subject and works hard to make it unintimidating. She includes a lot of pictures of how adaptable it is to different looks. Also in the e-book are clickable links for any supplies you might have a hard time finding.
One of the things she says over and over is that if you can do it on the computer, you can turn it into jewelry.
The supplies are safe for kids to use with supervision once you make the basic trashmash mixture, and it's a great technique to do with children. My daughter loves drawing on the computer, and using this technique to make pendants with will thrill her.
Initially, you'll have to wait a a couple days to a week until your foam is ready to use. After that, most of the projects are things that can be done in an afternoon or two.
The best way to recycle is to re-use or re-purpose, and this technique allows for a lot of re-use of things you'd usually throw away. She used rims from plastic cups, empty soda bottles and encourages you to keep an eye out for things that can be used and embedded.
You can find her e-book at TimpyWorks.com for 5.95.You can preview the first 2 chapters of her book here as well as see examples of the earrings she's made.