Creative gifts
With the holidays coming up, we asked our teen staff for their ideas of things you can make on a budget that show you care.
PREVIOUS
NEXT
SCRATCHBOARD
I decided to make a scratchboard piece for Anthony, the little brother of my close family friend Elli. Since Elli is a senior and going to the East Coast for college, I thought making a meaningful work of art was a good idea. Also, I really didn’t have enough time and money to go shop or anything.
I took of photo of the two of them that was in color and turned it into black-and-white to make the process easier. I traced the picture using tracing paper and then I transferred it to the scratchboard. The easiest way to transfer is to flip the tracing paper and go over the lines with thick pencil or charcoal. Next, flip the tracing paper again and put the scratchboard under the tracing paper and go over the lines so that the pencil marks on the back will smear onto the scratchboard. Once you have the tracing done, you scratch out the light with a scratchboard knife (what does ‘scratch out the light’ mean?). Art stores sell scratchboard, tracing paper and scratchboard knives. I finished in a few hours. I gave it to Anthony and both he and Elli loved it. Anthony even said he was going to frame it in his room. I was glad they liked it, and that I spent little time and money on it.
—Ben Bang, 17, Palos Verdes Peninsula HS
I decided to make a scratchboard piece for Anthony, the little brother of my close family friend Elli. Since Elli is a senior and going to the East Coast for college, I thought making a meaningful work of art was a good idea. Also, I really didn’t have enough time and money to go shop or anything.
I took of photo of the two of them that was in color and turned it into black-and-white to make the process easier. I traced the picture using tracing paper and then I transferred it to the scratchboard. The easiest way to transfer is to flip the tracing paper and go over the lines with thick pencil or charcoal. Next, flip the tracing paper again and put the scratchboard under the tracing paper and go over the lines so that the pencil marks on the back will smear onto the scratchboard. Once you have the tracing done, you scratch out the light with a scratchboard knife (what does ‘scratch out the light’ mean?). Art stores sell scratchboard, tracing paper and scratchboard knives. I finished in a few hours. I gave it to Anthony and both he and Elli loved it. Anthony even said he was going to frame it in his room. I was glad they liked it, and that I spent little time and money on it.
—Ben Bang, 17, Palos Verdes Peninsula HS
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |
