I love shadow boxes.  There are so many kinds and they have endless possibilities.  I introduced these little worlds to the campers on Friday to lots of “oohs and ahhhs.”  I’m excited to see what they come up with.  I gave them the option of using the top or bottom of these boxes I picked up from Michaels.  I had some paper prepped in the right size for the backgrounds but I also have blank and patterned paper on hand so they can make their own choices.  The top is a glued on piece of transparency paper with puffy paint dots along the edges for a final touch.  Last step is to glue on silver chain so the kids can hang them on the wall.  You can also use leather straps or rope.  I used some tape to hold the chain in place while the mega E6000 glue dried.  This glue is my new savior for everything.  I am hoping the kids come up with some new ways to make these boxes awesome.  I am already seeing little people being made and getting requests for sculpey.  We’ll see what happens on Monday.  I try to make all my projects as open-ended as possible.  All aspects are optional, including doing the project at all.  We usually have a few stations going at once, which works out nicely.  It’s camp, so I want to create a relaxed and fun space.  The kids seem to respond to it really well.

The shadow box below was created by an 8 year old.  It’s a rainy day scene.  I love how she used the pattern on the background paper to represent the rain.