Rock & Shell Collection

Any budding geologists out there will very quickly stack up a very heavy pile of pebbles, rocks, shells and fossils.  As such they need a very sturdy box to cope with that weight, so...why not decorate a strong, old cardboard box to store the collection?!

Before You Begin: This is what you will need to make a box for your rock and/or shell collection: a sturdy box (after all those rocks can get heavy!), glue, scissors, button or fastening, string and possibly a rubber band, paper to cover the box (or else some paint), some strong tape (such as duct tape) and finally lots of pictures of shells, rocks and minerals (you can easily find and print off your own, or else download the sheets we prepared and used - which you can see in the picture - from here: FOLLOW THIS LINK!)

Step 1 - Make holes in the lid for your button. We chose this style of button, but a round one or any other kind would do just as well.

Step 2 - Thread some string through the holes and then secure with a knot underneath. You could leave this stage until after you've papered (or painted) your box. If you do, then the process for securing the fastening is exactly the same as follows.

Step 3 - Now thread the button through the holes in the box lid and again secure with a strong knot underneath. Use strong tape (something like duct tape would be ideal) to cover the knot and the ends of the string on the underside of the lid.

Step 4 - Now attach your fastening. If you do this after you've painted or papered then you might prefer to attach it to the underside of the lid (instead of on top, but then under the paper as we did).

There are three possible fastenings you could use with the button (see the picture below): 1 is a simple elastic band taped to the top of the lid; 2 is a loop of string much like a button loop on clothing; 3 is a single piece of string that you wind round the button two or three times - this makes a surprisingly secure fastening. Whichever fastening you choose, then tape it to the lid (picture 4). As you can see we decided on fastening number 2 - a simple loop made of string. Don't forget to make sure that you make the loop big enough that you can undo the button, but not so big that the fastening is loose when done up

Step 5 - Next paper your box all over. The easiest way is to use a large amount of PVA glue and paintbrushes. Alternatively you could paint it.

Step 6 - Cut out and glue your pictures of stones, pebbles, minerals, shells and rocks all over your box. The more you put, the better. Try not to leave any gaps if you can - we need to print out a few more pictures and fill in our spaces a bit more, but this is more or less the finished article now!

Finally - The last stage is to either paint the box all over with a good quality PVA glue which will dry clear and make a sort of varnish, or else get some of those sticky plastic laminating sheets that libraries cover books with (you can find them easily in stationary and office suppliers insha'Allah). That way your printed off pictures will be protected from any splashes and spills and general wear and tear.