How to Make Shadow Box Frames
Shadow boxes can bring a unique look to a room's décor. You can buy premade shadow boxes in many different themes, you can buy empty premade boxes at your local arts and crafts stores or you can make your very own shadow box from scratch with a few simple materials. One major benefit of making your own shadow box is that you can make it any size you choose and put anything in that you can imagine.
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Things You'll Need
- 4 to6-inch wide wood board
- Saw
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Utility knife
- Hammer
- 1-inch nails
- Piece of glass 1/2-inch longer than frame
- 1/2-inch nails
- Sturdy cardboard or thin wood for the back
Instructions
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1
Cut the pieces of the frame. Shadow boxes are deeper than regular picture frames, so you will want a piece of wood that has a width of at least 4 to 6 inches. Decide on the size of your frame and cut the wood to size. Your frame can be rectangular or square. If you want a box that is 10 by 10 inches, cut two pieces 10 inches and 2 pieces 10 inches minus the thickness of your pieces of wood. If your wood is 1 inch thick, you will cut two of the pieces 8 inches each, and your frame will still measure 10 by 10.
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2
Make a mark at 1/2 inch across the width at both ends of each of piece of wood. Use a ruler to connect the marks at each end of each piece of wood. Measure the width of your glass. It will likely be between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Measure this distance from the line on each of your wooden boards and draw another line. You will have two parallel lines the same distance apart as the thickness of your glass. Between these lines will be the trench for your glass. If you are using a soft wood like pine, you can use a utility knife to cut the length of these lines and slowly remove the pieces of the wood between them down to 1/4 inch.
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3
Put three pieces of the frame together and nail into place with 1-inch nails. Stay toward the edge of the frame to avoid getting too close to the trench you made for the glass.
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4
Slide the glass into place and add the top to the frame. The glass should fit perfectly into the trenches on the side and bottom of the frame. Put the top in place, making sure to line the trench up with the top of the glass. Gently press the top down onto the glass. Nail the last piece of the frame into place, staying near the edge to avoid the glass.
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5
Decorate the inside of your frame. Some people line the inside of the frame with paper or fabric to add an extra touch.
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Make the back of your shadow box out of sturdy cardboard or thin wood. Cut the cardboard or wood down to the same size as your frame, in our case 10 by 10 inches. This piece of cardboard or wood will be where most of your decorating will occur. The back of your shadow box can have any design you choose. Whatever you are attaching to the back, you'll want to attach with strong glue, even super glue, to make sure it holds. Remember to keep your design within the boundaries of the frame. Your frame may be 10 by 10, but your opening is smaller than that.
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Attach the back of the frame. When your design is done, you can attach the back of your shadow box by lining the back up with the frame and using thin 1/2-inch nails all around the back edging.
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