How to Make Nautical Shadow Boxes
A shadow box displays souvenirs and curios within a deep, glass-fronted frame. Appropriate material for a nautical shadow box includes the kind of items you pick up during a day at the beach, such as shells and sea glass. Juxtapose these items with other memorabilia -- a postcard, a ferry ticket, a toy boat -- to create a nautical theme. Shadow boxes provide an alternative way to showcase items you bring back from an outing or a holiday. Instead of keeping them in a scrapbook, arrange the souvenirs together and hang your project on the wall.
Things You'll Need
- Wooden box with sliding lid
- Clear acrylic sheet (such as Plexiglas), less than 1/4 inch thick
- Box cutter
- Steel rule
- Vise
- Sandpaper
- Small eyelet screws
- Drill or awl
- Picture wire
- Balsa wood
- Wood glue
- Paintbrushes
- Acrylic paints (black or dark brown, white and blue)
- Paper cup
Instructions
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1
Place the lid from the wooden box onto the acrylic sheet, lining up one of the corners. Score lightly around the edge. Using the steel rule as a guide, make deeper cuts along the scored lines with the box cutter.
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2
Clamp the sheet to a table with a vise, positioning the cut along the table edge, and snap along the cut. Sand the edges smooth.
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3
Bore holes for the eyelet screws into the back of the box, near the top. Run picture wire between the eyelets, leaving enough wire so you have a little slack and an extra inch or two. Cut the wire.
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4
Fold the ends of the wire back onto the main length of wire, twisting firmly to hold them in place.
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5
Paint the outside of the box with black or dark brown acrylic paint and allow it to dry.
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6
Mix a light blue acrylic paint by pouring white acrylic into a cup and adding in very small dabs of blue until you like the color. Mix well. Cut lengths of balsa wood and attach them with wood glue before painting the inside of the box pale blue if you want shelves or sections in the box. Allow it to dry completely.
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7
Arrange nautical items inside the box. Place larger items, such as postcards, in back and smaller ones in front. Pin or glue them in place once you are happy with the arrangement.
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8
Slip the glass or acrylic lid onto the box. Drop a little craft glue around the edges or use pins if the lid is loose to make sure it doesn't slide off when you hang up the shadow box.
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Tips & Warnings
Measure the box lid and get a sheet of glass or acrylic cut to the right size at a glazier or a hardware store if you don't have the tools or inclination to do it yourself.
Stand the shadow box on a shelf if you won't want to hang it on the wall.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit nautical christmas decorations image by itsallgood from Fotolia.com
