Go to most any home and you’ll see picture frames hanging on the walls. But those picture frames likely contain photos of family members and friends. Those kinds of picture frames are the same ones you can use to make something a little different for your walls. Show off collectibles, miniatures, silk flowers, monograms and more by making a simple shadow box from any ordinary picture frame. The project is simple, quick and will leave you with beautiful new decor pieces for any room of the house.
The size of the picture frame you use doesn’t really matter, but if you’re going to use a huge frame, you might want to set the finished product on a shelf or table, rather than hanging on the wall. But, that will usually depend upon how shallow you end up making your shadow box.
You’ll need a cardboard box that has an opening the size of the picture frame opening. The ideal box will also be shallow and have bottom flaps that are taped or stapled together, not folded and overlapping each other. From the picture frame you’re using, remove the stand and backing, but keep the frame itself. The glass in the frame is optional.
If the box you’ve chosen has top flaps it will be necessary to cut them off completely. The picture frame is then glued to the opening of the box – if you’ve chosen not to use the glass. If you will keep the glass in the picture frame, design and decorate the box before gluing on the frame and glass.
There are many different ways to decorate the box. Paint it, cover it in fabric, glue on fake jewels, or even cover it with glitter glue. But, do not decorate the very bottom of the box. It will go up against the wall when you hang it. Not going to hang it? Going to set it on a shelf or table? Feel free to decorate the entire box, then.
After finishing the outside of the box it’s time to concentrate on the real masterpiece: the inside of the box. Here’s where you will individualize the shadow box. Do something as simple as painting a wooden letter and gluing it inside the box. Several boxes can spell out a child’s name or can just represent the initial of your last name.
The inside of the box itself can be decorated similar to the outside, with paint or something else, or you can make the inside look completely different than the outside. Paint the outside and add cloth to the inside. Or, use wallpaper on the inside and cloth on the outside. The design is your own.
After the basic decorating has been done to the inside of the box you can decide what theme you will feature. You can glue an entire scene inside, like a miniature park bench, mini kids on bikes, or even a mini carousel. Or, you can do something more simplistic, like simply gluing a small statuette inside. Craft stores are full of miniature novelties.
The boxes can feature something unique and beautiful or can be made into a Christmas decoration. The design doesn’t just have to be for the Christmas holiday, either. You can set the scene for Easter, Mother’s Day, Independence Day or even someone’s birthday. Use your imagination to create the scene you want.
If you’re using a frame with glass, glue all the miniatures down, then glue the frame over the box opening. Make sure the glass is perfectly clean or the fingerprints will be trapped inside forever! Before adding the frame be sure you’ve poked a hole so that the shadow box can hang on a wall. Hang a grouping of them or choose one or two larger ones. No matter what size or shape, the shadow boxes will add a touch of color – and class – to any room of the house.
Reference:
- Buy miniatures here: www.michaels.com
