Creating a personalised collage video

Step 1: Work out what you'd like the collage to say and edit down your scraps to the pieces that most evoke this memory. If it was a holiday, a walking map, photo of a beach or pictures of a sandcastle that you built might be best.

Step 2: Spray the front and back of your images with craft sealant. This makes the paper more robust and stops it from stretching and wrinkling if you choose to varnish it.

Step 3: Using spray mount, lightly spray the backs of the images you want to use and play about with different positions on the canvas. As with photography, triangular compositions tend to work well, as does splitting the background to have graphic imagery such as photos on one side of the composition and 'looser' pictures, like children's drawings or homemade birthday cards on the other. Then, add layers on top that are a little less structured. Move your pieces around until you find positions that you're happy with.

Step 4: Once you have all your images in place, consider embellishing the top, perhaps adding polished stones, a sand border or shells - all of which children will love. Highlighting specific parts of the picture is also effective, using glitter and glue, or stitching. For example, I stitched the routes over a map that my husband and I took on a walking holiday.

Step 5: If you'd like to seal the finished piece (assuming you are not using feathers or anything that would be ruined with varnish), apply a thin layer of acrylic varnish over the top. Leave to dry and paint on a few more layers of varnish at intervals.