Keep a Special Sick Day Toy

5/23/07 - By Anna Fader

Sun Prints are pictures you make by creating shadows on photosensitive paper. By laying objects on a piece of sun print paper and then exposing it in a sunny windowsill, you create your own image. There's really something magical and poetic about it. When I was a kid, Sunlight Prints were the thing that my mom pulled out whenever I was sick and stayed home from school. I don't know what gave her the idea of reserving a special toy for sick days, but it was brilliant. Like a cheesy Campbell's soup commercial, I would be laying sick in bed, and when my mom walked in with the sun prints, my face would light up with a smile (Begin commercial montage of me spending quiet, but happy hours in front of a sunny window making prints).

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Of course being the 21st century, The Sunlight Print Kit has gone all fancy. You can buy just a pack of the paper, but for a couple dollars more you get a full kit with a little book of tips and techniques, stencils and acetate to help make cool images. These kits make great gifts for elementary school kids. I just bought several to keep on hand for upcoming birthday parties. Done.