When I was asked to come up with an art project for my son's fifth grade class, I came up with a simple project and the end result was amazing.  So amazing, in fact, that I ended up bidding on it myself and buying it back at the school fundraising auction.  This class project now hangs in my family room and draws many compliments.

What makes this project so great is that each child creates their individual masterpiece, and when the pieces are all put together, the result is an impressive piece of art.

I realized that this project would be a great way to memorialize any special event.  For example, you could have each guest at your child's birthday party decorate a small flat wooden shape and then frame them all together for a wonderful memento (as seen in the photo).  Or, perhaps have each child on your sports team do the same to create a gift for the coach.  Scout leaders and teachers would certainly appreciate such an original gift, and how about creating a memory from that big family reunion you've got planned.

You can easily create your own variation of this project by using different shapes, arranging them in various formations, using specific colors (i.e. only black and white designs mounted on a red background), etc.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1.  Small, flat wooden shapes (i.e. I used stars) one for each child, which are available at your local craft store.

2.  A variety of bright colored markers ( I used Gel Pens which gave a very bright color effect).

3.  Black poster board for matting.

4.  An inexpensive poster frame (I used a 24x30 acrylic frame from Michael's Crafts).

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Have each child create a design on their wood shape with markers and put their name on the back.

2.  Lay out the shapes as you would like them to appear in the finished project.

3.  Copy the names from the backs of the shapes onto a piece of paper in the same order that they will appear framed.  This way you have a reference guide to determine which design belongs to which child.

4.  Mount the shapes onto the black poster board with hot glue or silicone glue.

5.  Place poster board in desired frame and attach the reference guide to the back of the frame.

6.  Admire!

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