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Welcome to Ransom Recycles!

I love to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Finding creative ways to use already existing and unwanted objects saves resources, money and, most importantly, the environment. My latest mission...Christmas! I've never cared for Christmas and I know saying this aloud is sacrilegious to most. I find the holiday too sentimental with far too much focus on materialism. I enjoy the idea of Christmas cards, but I'm rarely impressed by the uninspired designs nor the standard, meaningless messages of sentimental harassment. Collage enables me to re-create my own kind of card, to express my opinions, and twist current events into the holiday-related themes of materialism, gender equity, dietary indulgence, ecology, religion, and politics. All card designs were inspired by the people in my life. Some subjects are contentious and controversial while others are traditional and typical geared to fit the history and relationship I have with each recipient. I prefer the snarky. I like the unexp
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The Effects of Global Warming

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The Effects of Global Warming considers how climate change and global warming would effect the Christmas season. First, with warmer weather there would be no snow. No snow means fewer or smaller snowmen or none at all. They'd melt in record time. If there is snow it'll be radioactive and red. Santa's sleigh wouldn't work so well without snow. I think it would be more cost effective to fly in a plane anyway. Compared to the care, feeding and training of reindeer, airplanes would be much less hassle. Perhaps airplanes would be faster transportation, but I think reindeer have magical properties to be able to fly the world in one night so maybe not. Warmer weather means different foliage. No more pine trees. More palm trees. More fake Christmas trees. Less hot, baked foods and more cold drinks. A tropical Christmas for sure.... Size: 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches, bound front cover inside back cover
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Kindness is Like Snow

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Kindness is Like Snow was inspired by a quote I read I thought was beautiful. There is not enough kindness in the world. Lots of materialism, self-serving acquisition of STUFF, and resource wasting, but not enough emphasis on kindness, compassion, and solidarity which is what Christmas should be about. If we were all just a little more kind everyday and not just once a year, the world would be a better place. Size: 5 x 6 1/2 approximately, bound front cover inside back cover
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Call Me Karen

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Call Me Karen questions why Mary of Nazareth, a Judean-Palestinian woman from the Middle East, is always depicted as a white woman? I remember the good old days when the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormon boys weren't afraid of my house. They used to come calling, desiring to spread the Good News with lies and ignorant misinformation. Unaware of my religious background and education, they were caught off guard. They'd hand me pamphlets with images of Jesus Christ glowing with divine light and I'd ask, "Why is this Jesus white if he was from the Middle East?" They didn't know. "Why does this Jesus have blue eyes?" They had no idea. They'd look at each other like deer caught in the headlights. Most of my questions went unanswered as I stared back in fake confusion demanding clarification with my piercing eyes. I could have given them the answers, but I preferred to watch them squirm and regurgitate the dogma they had memorized in prepar
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Perfume Is Poison

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Perfume is Poison challenges the idea that perfumes, colognes or scented products of any kind make acceptable Christmas gifts. These toxic chemicals damage the health of the wearer and those who must suffer the stench. Over thirty percent of the population reacts negatively to perfumes and scented products with symptoms as common as headaches, respiratory congestion, joint pain, rashes, depression and irritability. Fifteen percent of the population have been forced to adjust their lifestyles to avoid the poisons in order to live in a world saturated with this toxic stench. Yet the rest of the population buys, wears, and selfishly contaminates the air we must all share without any regard for others. Perfume, cologne and scented products are popular Christmas gifts designed to make the wearer feel good about themselves, The average person uses 515 toxic chemicals per day. Please stop! Size: 8 x 5 1/2 inches, bound front cover inside back cover
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Save the Trees

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Save the Trees is a commentary on the materialism of the Christmas season and our entitled sacrifice of living plants for seasonal ornamentation. Granted, I realize there are tree farms that cater to this need, but why is it a requirement of Christmas to have freshly cut trees and wreaths? With so many creative alternatives, why is this still acceptable? I will be the first to admit, I am as guilty as the next person. For the past fifteen years every December I hiked down to the blackberry patch in the wilds where the evergreens grown. Every year I trim the low hanging branches for my one and only Christmas token - a handmade wreath. This year, however, I finally realized I've been slowly cutting away all the low hanging branches and there is nothing left except blackberry vines! How could I be so oblivious to my destruction? This card represents my own selfish and careless regard for resources. I know I am not alone in my self-centeredness. This year I'm making my homemade w
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A Christmas Card..Board

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A Christmas Card...Board  was made for a friend who gives me loads of cardboard. I use cardboard for everything: protest posters, signs of all kinds, papier mache projects, costumes, window screens, templates for projects, floor covers while painting, table covers while doing projects, garden mulch, models, separators when storing these card collages. Naturally, I made the card out of cardboard. It only seemed right. I loved I found on one of the cardboard panels "Assembled in the U.S.A." You bet. Size: 4 x 5 inches, bound front cover inside back cover
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The Older I Get the Younger Santa Looks!

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The Older I Get the Younger Santa Looks addresses the challenges of aging. This was a subject I had a difficult time finding any humor in, but I loved the title. Aging sucks. Youth has a way of shielding a person from knowing or understanding the inevitable. We live our lives assuming comfort, contentment, and happiness will last forever if we just work hard enough. During my era of immortality my elderly great-aunt informed me, "Candi, you don't want to grow old. It's not fun." I remember thinking at the time, Well, what is my choice? I still had no clue what she was talking about even with her detailed descriptions of failing body parts. Years later, here I am, and along with all my friends our constant topic of discussion is our health and the betrayal of aging. Thank you to my friend, Virginia, my comrade in aging, who gave me not only a lot of old Christmas cards, but also her stockpile of nursing magazines. I had a glorious time reading about disease and loo
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