Stars and stripes seem to signal the beginning of summer, with Memorial Day celebrations and continue into the Fourth of July festivities. But these patriotic symbols need not be relegated strictly to holidays.

The bold, graphic look creates the perfect backdrop for a summer photo that is enhanced with a 3-D effect.

To permit dimensionality, select a shadow box in place of a standard picture frame. It’s important to substitute a sheet of thick cardboard or foam core board for the wood backing in the box to make it possible to stick pins in later. But first, the cardboard should be covered with a sheet of white cardstock.

The red stripes of the flag design are more interesting if they are created with a series of red squares and rectangles, cut from an assortment of papers in several shades of red. As the red paper segments are attached to the white background, it’s fun to raise two or three in each row with foam adhesive. The finished effect looks a little like a flag that is waving in the breeze.

The photo is matted with blue paper and raised with three or four thicknesses of foam adhesive. The final dimensional element, straight pins with colored heads, are poked through blue punched stars. Each star is pulled out so it rests against the pinhead and not against the white background.

The star pins are poked into the white covered cardboard in a pattern that mimics the feel of the star section of a flag.

With the exception of the shadow box, it is likely that the supplies for this project are already sitting around your house. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get crafting!