Coffee Lid Shadow Boxes

   Here's a fun way to recycle disposable plastic coffee cup lids. Make little Shadow Box Ornaments! Kids love working with miniatures and will want to make more than one, so make sure you have enough lids. These make great teacher gifts, too as they provide an idea they can borrow next year! If you open up the whole where you sip, you can hang it near a light on the tree for a nice effect.
   Here are two ideas: a Deer Scene and a Manger Scene.

MATERIALS:

Great way to recycle all those coffee lids.

  For the Deer Scene:
  White lid
  Blue Paint
  Fiberfill for Snow or Spanish Moss for Hay
  Tiny figures such as trees, wildlife, children, Santas
  Coordinating Ribbon
  Plastic or Foil Star
  Optional: Seam Binding and/or Rick Rack
  Hot Glue or Elmer's Glue

 For the Manger Scene:
 Black Lid
 Baby figure
 Spanish Moss
 Hot Glue
 Coordinating Ribbon

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Wash and dry the lid thoroughly.
  2. With Hot glue or Elmer's glue, attach Seam Binding to outer edge of lid (red for Deer Scene; Blue for Manger Scene). When dry or cool, attach metallic rick rack to the inside of the lid.
  3. Open the sipping hole in the lid and thread ribbon through and tie into a bow at the top.
  4. Attach star, as shown, a little lower on the Manger Scene.
  5. Add Fiberfill or Moss, then figures.

Other ideas: Santa Scene, Scene From Storybooks - like Alice in Wonderland, etc.
 

Make sure you get those high lids so you
have more room to put little things in it.

Hang the ornament so that one of the lights shines
through the hole above the star.

Mushroom Forest Angels & Santas

This one reminds me of a Fairy Princess.
She is made from 2 fungi specimens -
one for the body and one for the wings.
Head is purchased bead; hair is
sisal basket fill.

These are the types of fungi used on these projects.
For a natural look, avoid the paint. 

At the risk of being redundant, here are more Shelf Fungi Craft ideas! Check out the Mushroom Turkey Craft post for more details on these fun natural specimens which I collected here in the southwestern PA woods where I live. But in a word, just collect them from dead trees and branches, dry them naturally, or bake them at 225 degrees for a few minutes. Seal them with a coat of clear sealant and then you are ready to begin! (You can also purchase these from craft suppliers online).

   You may need to study your collection for awhile before you begin to see what you can make from them. Many use only one piece of fungi, or for a more 3-D look, you can fashion tiny sculptures.
   Paint as desired. Coat with white paint first if you plan to paint the whole thing. Sometimes, you may want to leave them natural. Add glitter or not. For hair you can use green moss as is or you can paint the moss (!!) for blondes or brunettes or white for Santa's beard. It is messy to do this and will take several coats. Make sure your moss is dry!
   Add facial features or other details as desired. Possibilities are only limited by your mind!
   Here are some photos to get you started. Mine are Christmas ornaments, but you can paint them in spring colors for fairies or guardian angels to hang on your car mirror or kitchen window….
   Enjoy!

This little girl is made from a single specimen
and has a halo of gold cord.
I used a doll head and her hair is sisal basket fill.

Santa with painted moss beard.

Also made from a single fungus, she has.
moss hair and painted wood bead head.

Father Christmas!

Another old-time Santa with painted face.

St. Nicholas with fiberfill beard and wooden
bead head.