Shaker Shadowbox Tutorial
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by Shaunna
I started thinking about things I could alter, and as I looked around at what I had sitting out, I noticed an empty Valentine's chocolate box. Hmm.... What could I do with that? I wanted to make something unique and something useful out of this thing I was otherwise going to throw away - so I headed to my scrap room.
I have been wanting to make a shaker box for a long time now, and I've never seen it done within a shadow box. A HUGE shaker, with the bonus benefit of being a picture frame for a gift or for decor; an interactive picture frame. This is what I ended up with:
Wanna know how I did it? Well, I decided to make a tutorial along the way to share with everyone! Please bear with me, as this is my first tutorial and I am not always the best at explaining things. My pictures aren't the greatest quality, but good enough to be able to follow along. You can use any hollow box that's at least 1" tall or deeper - not too deep, though - you don't want it to be so shadowy you can't see anything in it! I used a "Choxie" chocolate box from Target - I especially liked that this one had a little bit of an odd curve in the heart shape, which will make it especially good as a display - it will stand up pretty well on its own. If you use a thinner box (the standard one that assorted chocolates come in, persay), you will probably have to add a stand to the back with chipboard or attach some ribbon so it can be hung on a wall. Here is a list of supplies you will need to complete this project:
- An empty hollow box (like a Valentine's chocolate box)
- 3 sheets of 12x12" coordinating patterned paper + scraps
- A piece of clear plastic film big enough to cover the lid of your box (you can use the plastic wrapper from a 12x12 pack of paper or kit, it works great!)
- At least 8" of ribbon
- Stickers / rub-ons to decorate inside & out
- Misc "shaker" embellies (buttons, die-cuts, punches, charms, etc.)
- Adhesive of choice
- Scissors, paper trimmer, and heavy duty cutting blade
- Ink/paint, if desired
- One 3x5" photo of choice
- Two small photos (no more than 2" at widest or tallest point)
OK, first thing's first. If you're going to set it on a table and you need a stand, then read on... if not, skip this section and go to the next paragraph. My best suggestion would be to trace the fold-out stand from picture frame you already have onto chipboard - don't forget to leave a little extra at the top so you can fold and attach to the back of the box! Mimic the design of the picture frame so you will end up with a stand. Brads would be great for attaching this to the box - and the backs would be covered with paper from the inside! When you've completed your stand, move on to the next step.
Decide which patterned paper you want to use for the inside of the box. Turn it upside-down and place your box on top of it, so that you use as little of the paper as possible, but still get the full outline.
Trace around the heart with a pencil and cut it out - when you cut, cut slightly inside the pencil line as it will need to be just slightly shorter than the actual box to fit inside without a hitch. You may have to trim it a few times to get it to fit correctly. Don't worry if it's not perfect - most often, no one will see the inside of the box, so you're in the clear. Glue the heart shape down. If you want, you can use the rest of the paper to fill in around the edges. Set the paper inside the box so it is even, and make a mark on the back where the box stops.
Cut several strips of this size from the remaining paper. Adhere the strips to the inside of the box one at a time. Overlap one strip with the next and continue this way until you have filled in the entire inside. Trim off any excess from the top.
To finish covering the bottom of the box, take a second piece of paper and do the same thing with the outside as you did on the inside - make a mark and cut strips, then adhere. The bottom half of your box should now be entirely covered with patterned paper, except the very bottom. Like this:
Now the hardest part. Take the lid of the box and use a ruler and your eyeball (or a template if you have one that fits) to make an outline around the inside of the box, about 1" from the edge. You will then have a "frame" for your window.
Using a sharp tool or scissors, cut on the outline you made to create a cutout of the shape in the middle of the lid. This cutout's border does not have to be 1", it can be whatever size you want, just remember the contents of your box! When you're finished cutting you should have something like this:
Now, get your third piece of patterned paper, and flip the lid over and stick it to the backside of the patterned paper (so the pattern will be on the front.) Again, try to take up as little space as possible on the paper! Trace around the outside and the inside window of your box, so you have the outline of your shape. Cut the main shape out of the paper, then using your cutter or scissors again, cut the shape from the center of the lid, and try to keep it as intact as possible so you can use it to embellish your box or add to your scrap pile. Do not glue yet! You should end up with two pieces:
Get out your clear film. Apply a generous amount of adhesive all over the top of the box lid, on the "frame" you made. Lay the plastic over the box and smooth it out well. Cut away the excess plastic hanging over the edges of the box. Apply adhesive to the back of the paper outline and stick it down on top of the film, covering the box as closely as possible. Continue covering the edges of lid of the box the same as you did the inside and outside, if you want. If you are using a standard candy box, the lid and bottom will overlap, so you will not have to cover both parts - only the one that will be facing out - which is most likely the top part. If you already covered the bottom, though, that's OK! You should end up with a box that is completely covered with patterned paper and a window in the lid. If that's what you have, then you're doing this right - and I'm doing a good job of explaining it! Now if you want, you can ink the edges of the box or distress them so it has time to dry.
Next, mat the pictures on the remainder of what you used for the outside bottom (sheet #2) or another coordinating scrap. Ink / distress the edges as desired. You can also add a rub-on to the large photo if you have one that is appropriate. You can glue the shape you cut from the lid paper into the bottom of the box if you want; do any inking or distressing you want to it first! Then add only the large photo to the box, lining it up the way it would be straightest when viewed in the frame, and also setting it high enough that it will not be covered by your shaker embellishments when they are resting in the bottom of the frame.
Embellish the inside of the box - LIGHTLY - as desired. I added a few simple stickers. You don't want to overdo it because you will have a bunch of little shaker contents floating around in there, and you don't want things to get caught or be too overwhelming!
Next, use the strip of ribbon in any way you choose to embellish the corner of the box.
I cut mine in two equal pieces, then attached them to the lid so they wrapped around the bottom edge just a little. Then I tied them together in the middle, and tied another smaller piece of ribbon in a knot around them, and secured it all with a decorative straight pin. Finish embellishing the lid of the box any way you want. I chose to make a small chipboard tag and hung it on the straight pin, and added a few flowers and a nice title:
Now your lid is finished! Almost done! Gather up a handful of small miscellaneous shaker embellishments, and the two small photos you have already cut and matted. I chose a few buttons, a few die cuts and word stickers that I matted on scraps, and a few small charms.
Now take all this stuff and dump it into the box. Add or remove things until you feel like there is a good balance - shake them around so you get the effect that will be seen when someone else looks at this. When you are happy with the embellishments, place the lid over the bottom, and you're done! Now shake it around and watch the magic (LOL!).When it is freestanding, all of the embellishments should fall to the bottom and reveal the big picture in the background. And you're done! Now stand back and admire your hard work!
Of course, you can't see the shaker element in my example, but you will definitely be able to in your own creation! This is a fun way to be able to display more than one picture at a time, and I am extremely happy with the way this project turned out! I hope you will be too! I hope everything was easy enough for all to understand, and I would love to see anyone else's take on my design!
Thanks so much for taking this mini-class! I hope you had as much fun making my creation as I did! Happy Scrapping!!
SUPPLY LIST: PAPER
* KI Memories "Unconditional" collection - "Petite Pop" 12x12
* KI Memories "Unconditional" collection - "Wide Rule" 12x12
* DCWV Glitter Stack - Black Diamonds & Dots 8x8
* Provo Craft "Life Happens" Stack - Pink Alpha 8x8
STICKERS
* EK Success Inspirables (pink circle w/ heart)
* EK Success Vellum quote (Love)
* Carolee's Creations Word Play (Now & Forever collection)
* Mark Richards crystal "Love" sticker
ALPHAS
* Making Memories white velvet alpha
* EK Success black punch label alpha
EMBELLIES
* Rub on - DCWV "Love" Colored Rub-On Stack
* Pin - EK Success Rebecca Sower Nostalgiques
* Chipboard heart - Fancy Pants Big Board Chipboard Frames & Tags
* Flowers - Prima (pink) & Creative Elements (white)
* Die Cuts - My Mind's Eye, Going in Circles kit "Love"
* Charm - Making Memories "Ace of Hearts" metal charm
* Misc. buttons from Wal-Mart
TOOLS
* Magenta fine tip Sharpie
* Ink it Up Ink (black, cranberry & pink)
* Scotch glue stick
* Fiskars adhesive photo corners
* Zots
* Making Memories distressing file
* Fiskars 12" paper trimmer
* X-acto Gripper knife
* "Choxie" by Target Chocolate box
(c) 2007 - Shaunna Farral
* I hold copyright for all images and instructions contained in this tutorial.
