Colored paper, stickers and paint cover the table as friends gather around to create and preserve memories during their final year of high school. To reminisce over the last four years, here are three crafts seniors can make before graduation.
Memory Boxes
To store memories and photos from the final year of high school, senior memory boxes are personalized containers that students can create. Using a wooden or paper box from any craft store such as Michaels, the box can be decorated with acrylic paint, colored paper or it can even be left plain.
A typical senior box has “senior” painted or written in bold letters on the lid, and the graduating year can also be included. It can be customized with sequins, jewels, ribbon or other craft supplies. Pinterest also contains many creative examples and possible themes to get inspiration from.
Throughout the year, the box can be filled with mementos and various items that capture memories. Even if they are trivial, these objects can serve as a reminder for fun senior events and enjoyable times with friends and family during the final year of high school. Examples include photo booth strips, polaroids, event tickets, college acceptances, sports medals, vacation souvenirs or handwritten letters and notes.
“My friends and I decided to make senior boxes because it’s a fun way to keep our memories, so we can look back on them at the end of the year,” senior Srimayi Sriram said. “I painted my box purple and included charms to make it Olivia Rodrigo themed because I thought that would be cute.”
Senior Photo Sign
A photo prop designed for senior events such as Senior Sunrise or Sunset features a large rectangular opening out of a piece of poster board (cardboard or thin styrofoam). The opening should be large enough to fit multiple people’s faces. The frame can be decorated with colored paper that is cut out to spell “senior” in huge letters. A bold font like bubble letters will make the letters stand out. To make the frame fit for a specific event, the poster board can be customized with details like the graduating class and event name.
For Senior Sunrise, the poster board cutout can also be made in the shape of a sun with a circle cutout. Pinterest offers many templates and examples to use.
“We used foam foldables and cut it apart with an exacto knife,” senior Natalie Ngyuen said. “We also used a bunch of construction paper of all sorts of colors, hot glue and a bunch of stickers.”
Scrapbook
Like senior boxes, creating a senior scrapbook offers a way to preserve the year’s memories in an artistic method. It can be organized in any way, but centering each page on a specific event leads to a scrapbook in chronological order that can be looked back on. Utilizing newspaper, stickers, washy tape and other paper clippings along with photos can make the pages more complex. Saving items from the event to glue in also makes for an interactive layout.
Some scrapbook spread ideas include a “then and now” page with baby photos and senior portraits, a senior bucket list page and a prom page. Highlighting specific extracurriculars such as theater or sports allows seniors to remember their achievements throughout high school.
“Whenever I have free time, I like to add pages to my scrapbook after any fun hangout or event that I have with my friends or family,” senior Tanvi Koya said. “My favorite page was the one I made of Senior Sunrise.”
Whether it be the senior boxes, photo sign or scrapbook, there is a lot of creative freedom with each craft. As high school comes to a close, these projects can be made with friends to reminisce over the past few months.
