How to make a Large Picture Frame for Living Pictures Activity

I’m always on the lookout for ways to engage the children with different visual intrigue ideas, but I can’t make a new craft for every song! If I’m going to make something for primary, then it better be more than a one-time use product!

Enter: Large Picture Frame for Living Pictures Activity! (also known as “Make the Picture Come Alive”)

You can read more about the activity on Sharla Dance’s website if you want, but the idea is with a large picture frame, letting the kids hold objects or enter the frame as characters from the song while you sign.

Nephi’s Courage, for example, has multiple people mentioned and is great for this activity.

Here’s how I made this large picture frame for singing time.

I started with a large and thick cardboard sheet (from buying a new TV, but other kinds can work!)

Then I marked out a cut-out for the pictures. it’s not perfectly symmetrical but it will work just fine!

Then the cutting! Using an Xacto knife would’ve saved me some time, but all I had were scissors.

Now to get rid of the jagged inside edges, I covered the inside with duct tape.

I also like how it makes the cardboard look a little nicer.

Next, I wanted to create a stand for it so it could be propped up easily on a table without me having to hold it.

I cut triangles of cardboard and taped them to the backside of the frame, making sure that I can move them side-to-side for easy storage later.

So now, we have a finished frame to use anytime for the “living pictures” activity which will be a great evergreen activity for multiple songs!

I may spray-paint the frame black later to spruce it up, but it’ll work fine as-is for now!

I also will be able to fold it in half for easy storage later.

Tell me what you think? Is it worth it to do this way or would you just run to the store to get a frame?

If you’re interested in another type of visual intrigue activity, check out my shadow puppet DIY tutorial and shadow puppets.