Sparkle Craft: “Bravery-in-a-Box” Travel Photo Frame
In the Junkyard Tales: All Together Now story “Because We Take Care of Each Other,” Winnie the puppy assistant has her first appointment at the vet, and she is nervous. She insists that her Junkyard friends come too. When Ben promises that he and Spiro will be there, Sergeant asks, "Why go to such risk?" "Because we take care of each other," answers Ben, and thus the adventure begins.
Isn't it amazing how much just those few words from a friend — “We are with you!” — can make a person feel brave? Whether it's a scary visit to the doctor, a challenging day at school or work, or a big performance, knowing you have people who love you no matter what can really help you go out into the world and do brave things.
But what about those times when your friends can't tag along? Well, for those times, consider this week's craft.
Made from an empty Altoids tin, this travel photo frame will let you bring your friends with you, along with a few other tidbits and words to help you feel brave.
While the painting step takes a bit to dry, these little boxes are otherwise quick and fun to put together. Make one for a friend going through a hard time or make one for yourself. Tucked into a pocket or bag, it will be a great reminder of all the people who have your back.
“Bravery-In-a-Box” Travel Photo Frame
Materials
An empty Altoids (or similarly sized) tin
1 small can spray paint
1 photo
Sharpie marker
Scissors and/or a craft knife
Glue
Collage materials (kid's art, magazine photos, washi tape, etc.)
A quote about bravery (I printed mine out in two sizes to have variation.)
Ephemera to tuck into the box (Think of things that might make the receiver feel brave.)
Directions
Begin by painting the Altoids tin. Working in a well ventilated space, spray one side of the tin, and allow it to dry before you paint the other.
Once the tin is completely dry, use it as a template to get the contents of your photo frame cut to the right size. To do so, put the bottom of the tin on your photo, square it up so that the part of the photo you want to capture will be in the “frame,” and use a sharpie to trace around the tin. Cut the photo out inside of the sharpie line.
Add some collage materials to your photo, if you like (I added a bit of washi tape to the top and bottom of mine), and glue it into one side of the tin.
For the other side of the tin, again, trace the bottom of the tin to get your collage base cut to the right size. (Here, I used a dragon my son drew at school as a base.)
Glue on any other collage materials you like, then add your bravery quote. Glue the entire little picture into the other side of the tin.
If you want to add other ephemera (I used a small plastic dinosaur and a few lucky “fairy” rocks), you can glue them down in the deeper side of the tin. I didn't like the way that blocked the pictures, so I opted just to tuck them in, so that they can be displayed outside the tin whenever it's opened.
Now, get out there, take care of each other, and be brave!
If you liked this tutorial, here are others you might enjoy:
Not yet a subscriber? Try a free trial HERE.
About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
