My best friend has two little girls and does not yet know the joy of bugs and other creepy crawly things. Her girls are by no means squeamish about dirt, but still, they’re not out collecting bugs like my boys.
She is currently pregnant with her third child and is due to find out what she’s expecting in just a few weeks. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that a sweet, bug-collecting, spider stomping (here’s looking at you friend), BOY is wriggling around in her belly!
Like I said, my boys are really fascinated by bugs. We went through a phase not too long ago where bugs were their main interest and we read all about beetles, spiders, dragonflies, and more on a daily basis. Needless to say, there was plenty I didn’t know about insects that I have since learned.
I love being able to encourage their interests and provide them with all the resources and opportunities they need to develop those interests. Just like you, I’m sure! I also love keeping my house neat and clean, though, and the random collections they were accumulated needed a home.
I wanted my boys to have a place to show off their finds and to be able to see them easily everyday. Hence this display box that is now hanging in our new homeschool nook.
This shadow box has been repurposed many times over. I originally found it at Goodwill years ago. Its last use was a jewelry organizer hanging in my room. But when I changed up how I organized my jewelry last year, the shadow box was free once more for a new use.
The whole project only takes about ten minutes to finish and just a few supplies. Of course, you don’t have to display bugs in yours. Show off whatever nature treasures your kids find when they are out exploring.
Our box is currently displaying a few insects, a chrysalis we found while playing disc golf, shark teeth from my husband’s father, shells from my mother, and a couple of feathers from our chickens!
Shadow Box Display Tutorial
Supplies Needed:
- shadow box
- foam
- felt
- scissors
- hot glue gun
Steps:
- Cut the foam so that it is just bigger than the opening in the shadow box. You want it to be slightly bigger so that you can squeeze it in making the foam tight.
2. Cut the felt so that it is big enough to tuck in the shadow box, covering the foam and fitting up the sides of the shadow box, stopping just under the frame.
3. Glue the felt into the shadow box. Place a line of glue on the edge of the foam and just under the frame. Work with one small section at a time until all the felt is adhered to the shadow box.
4. Use pins to display your nature treasures!
What kinds of things do your children collect?
What is something you have repurposed recently?
[…] being inaccessible or in the way. For a long time, we displayed our favorite nature finds in a repurposed shadow box on our wall. Nowadays, our collection is displayed on a hand-built piece of […]