Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM

July 12, 2013

Diorama

A few months ago my mom asked me if I wanted a round box she had and was going to toss out.  At first I said, 'Nah, that's OK,' but then I changed my mind because I figured I could always find a use for it.  After I got it home, I thought maybe I could try to make a diorama with it.  I kind of remember making a diorama when I was a little kid from a shoe box.  After googling various diorama pictures, I decided to try an underwater scene, looking out from a porthole window.  

I started by lining the inside with light and dark blue watery-looking paper.  The outside of the box and lid are done in silver cardstock.  

I purchased the treasure chest from a pet store in the aquarium department, and removed the little hoses, then glued extra rhinestones, flattened gold bead caps and shells to the base.  Rather than make a mess gluing a sandy bottom in the box, I used sandpaper.  

One of my friends said that my sharks look happy.  I used fishing line, pearl beads and fish ephemera too.

I'd cut a hole in the box lid and put a clear sheet of plastic in like a window, and then used black-topped thumbtacks for the porthole rivets.  I realize that the ship or submarine would also be resting on the bottom of the ocean floor to see this view but oh well!!!  I am pleased with the way it came out.  I would like to add some nautical rope around the outside of the box but I haven't found any yet.  

16 comments:

  1. Well sure those sharks are happy; lookit all the food just swimming by, totally oblivious to their presence behind them?

    Great project JoJo! Love the porthole with rivets; nice touch!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great idea! So adorable!

    I love your header photo...fantastic!!!

    Jan

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is awesome!! I absolutely love it. Thank you for the heads up about the missing word. :P I fixed it!! YAY. I so appreciate your good eye.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've always liked dioramas, too. You did a great job, JoJo. I like that porthole effect.

    Have you ever seen the Civil War diorama/cyclorama that used to be at Grant's park in Atlanta - a life size depiction of a battle of that time. I showed it to hubs on one of our trips to visit family. It's impressive.
    Link:
    http://www.atlantacyclorama.org/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:53 PM

    Inventive, as ever :0)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your sharks really do look happy. I thought the pearl beads on the fishing line were a great touch.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm liking this. Tanks very much.

    Have a lovely weekend :)

    Gary

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think this one came out pretty cool! Sorry the fairies in a jar was a fail, didn't look so bad from what I could see in the photos. Glad you had a nice 4th too :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is SO charming!!! Love it. I have a thing for treasure chests (not my desire for riches, I just love the fantasy and folklore and mystery that tend to go with them) and this one is adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks everyone!! It was fun to make and as always, I was sad to finish it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love what you did here. Beautiful job, JoJo. It reminds me that, in school, we were assigned to create dioramas. That was always fun. I don't think kids nowadays have a clue what it is.

    xoRobyn

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous1:03 AM

    Wow. That's really cool! I've never thought about making one of these but I'm thinking about it now! Thanks for sharing your awesome project. I love it! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely,you have great ideas.

    ReplyDelete

  14. Wonderful use of your mother's round tin. You gave it a fantastic new life and your diorama is absolutely delightful.

    ps - love the way you constructed the porthole - rivets and all. Very clever of you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. That looks so cool! You are quite creative.

    ReplyDelete