Great Blog

http://www.nessadeeart.blogspot.com/

Dive Into Books

The loft bed is perfect for creating an aquarium or ocean display. Surround it on three sides with blue paper or plastic for the look of water. Tear strips of colored butcher paper [I used orange, but any bright color will do to make the effect of coral], and pull them through a closed fist to wrinkle them. Tape them to the background. Tear rough squares of another paper [I used yellow for this one] and crumple into fist-sized wads and tape to the background and each other to create another coral effect. Using ribbons, I hung stuffed fish from the loft bed grid. I also draped a woven hammack on the side to look like a fish net, and spread a tan piece of material on the floor to give the effect of sand. I added seashells later [not pictured].

I used green bulletin board paper to create a large flower-looking coral in the corner and set an artificial fern beneath it. I draped a bunch of oversized fringe to look like more ocean flora. I salvaged an actual boat's lifesaver ring and glued a familiar ship's name to it, which explains why this ring ends up on the bottom of the ocean. Several quilted placemats and tablerunners repeated the colors of blue with added patterns and bursts of color.

The Titanic sank in the month of April, so part of the display was dedicated to that theme. I also pulled books on the ocean, diving, coral reef, and fish. Another nice effect I've done in the past is to put a small fan on the display to make the fish look like they were swimming around. I had already made the stuffed fish for another project last year, so with several students helping me, this particular display took about an hour to put together.