Materials:
1.
Scrabble Tiles (you can find these at antique stores,
generally around $.25.
2.
Glue Dots (found at a craft store in the scrapbooking
section. You don’t want the thick ones)
3.
Shadow Box (can also be found at a craft store, but just
as commonly at a thrift store. I used an
8”x8”)
4.
Cardboard or thick paper, black or white.
5.
Scissors or an exacto knife.
Other:
1.
Online crossword puzzle maker. You can usually just search for “crossword
puzzle maker”. The best one I’ve found
can be found here -> puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/CrissCrossSetupForm.asp
Hint 1: make sure
you input the names you want as “name/name” so the clue is the same as the word
itself.
Hint 2: if the
puzzle generates without a person, try adding words like “family” or “love” or “together”;
it just may not have enough places to put everyone.
Instructions:
1.
Cut the cardboard/heavy paper to fit in the shadow
box. I have learned that you can take
the glass out of the frame and use it to trace/cut the cardboard.
2.
Lay out the tiles according to the crossword puzzle
maker. Make sure they all fit before you
start sticking them down!
3.
Starting on one of the ends, start sticking the tiles
down with the glue dots. I went through
and systematically glued down each adjacent tile so I wouldn’t mess up ;)
4.
Replace the glass and lay your finished product in the
shadow box. Enjoy! J
I traced a half of one side of an 'outie' on a large piece of paper then folded the paper in half and cut it out so I had one full side of an 'outie'. For the pieces I bought a packet of file folders and the biggest base I would be able to make is a 4" x 4". [Note: since I would only have a 4" x 4" center, I had to make sure the template was less than 1" so there still would be room for the students to decorate their piece]. I cut the 'outie' template to this size making sure the fold was at 2". 
I then traced out the puzzle onto a thick paper using the template. For the 'outies' I traced it away from the center and for the 'innies' I traced it toward the center. Once I made sure I was proud of my puzzle {which took me about three tries} I traced it onto the file folders and cut them out. To make sure the sides were straight I used a scrapbooking/papercrafts straight edge cutter. 
Sarah cut out quotes from a story book and matted a line of sheet music. Carly wove together full pages from the story book to use as the background. Kat used different types of papers to create a beautiful layered effect. All of them used patterned paper to cut out the letters of their names.
Here's a secret that they don't want you to know: clock hands come off really ridiculously easily. You literally just pull them straight off. There's a golden (or silver, or black) nob that looks a little like it might screw in but just pull it off. Then, gently (so you don't bend them) but firmly (so they actually come off) pull the hands off. There will be something (mine's white with a gold base) sticking out of the clock now. Use a wrench to unscrew the nut (gold thing that looks a little like a six sided stop sign) and voila! All you have left is the clock face. *Note: if your clock has a cover, you need to pop that off before you do this step. There are three little slits in the back of the clock where the cover holds on; just release them with a screwdriver or other like object. 
Putting on the new face is also deceptively simple. If this clock could fit it, I would usually use scrapbooking paper (since there is generally more of a selection) but this was a 14" clock so I'm using fabric. I wanted some fabric that was less Hawaiian and more regal so I only glued it down in the back (in case I wanted to change it later). Since I had craft glue dots on hand, I used those, but any multipurpose glue would work. I stuck down the fabric in the back in about 20 places and then cut the excess fabric off. 
