How to Make a Shadow Box


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How to Make a Shadow Box
1.Making a shadow box can be a fun family project. Our son needed to make a habitat for the "Snowy Owl", so we created a shadow box home. Our plan a tailored to an owl but you can make one for any animal or occasion. Here is a list of supplies you will need: School glue or/ hot glue gun Cardboard paper towel tubes Construction paper Paint Scissors Shoe box or other similar sized box *String
2.After you have picked out a box, you will need to decorate the inside and outside first. We glued colored construction paper to the outside of the box. Then we painted the inside "white" since we wanted to imitate a snowy landscape. You can paint a blue sky and mountains inside your box. Be creative and paint in your background.
3.Next we made an owl using a toilet paper tube. We bent the bottom up and glued paper across the top to cover up the hole. Next we painted the tube white, and painted on a face. You can use tubes to make other animals too. Use cardboard and paper to design out animals, flowers ect. Just have fun!
4.Next we started decorating the inside of the box. We added a tree using a paper towel tube, and covered it with brown construction paper. We made a limb coming off from the side with a wooden screwer covered in paper. We glued the top and bottom of the tree in place using a hot glue gun.
5.Next we painted details on to the tree. We also cut a hill shape out of cardboard and glued it on to the front edge of the box to give the landscape more depth. You can add hills and mountains to the front of your box to give the appearance of a foreground. This helps to make the box more 3-D. You can add more trees or flowers to help bring the habitat to life.
6.Then we glued the Owl in place. We made wings for him out of white paper and attached them with metal brackets. We added a Lemming to the front hill and placed snowflakes at different heights and depths. We used tissue paper around the base of the tree to give the feeling of fresh snowfall. Placing your objects at different levels and depths help make the shadow box more interesting.
7.Lastly, we tied strings to the ends of the Owl's wings and strung them through the top. We attached the strings to a wooden stick, which allows you to raise and lower his wings. You can animate your animal the same way. For example, you could raise and lower an Elephant's trunk ect. Be creative and have fun!