First I needed to buy a shadowbox frame. You can find a reasonably priced one on Amazon or you can check your local stores. I chose a 12" x 12" frame because I knew that I wanted to use a standard sheet of paper as the main element.
The focus on the piece is Littlest's acceptance letter to Hogwarts, naturally. I used the customizable Hogwart's letter template from Photofunia.com.
I also printed out a Hogwart's Express train ticket from the Harry Potter Paraphernalia blog.
Shadow boxes need three dimensional objects to keep them interesting. If you only have printed items then you can use a regular frame.
The dollhouse section of your local crafts store is a good place to look for items. You can use tiny versions of any of the following Harry Potter inspired elements:
- wands
- books
- brooms
- owls
- gryphons
- unicorns
- castles
- dragons
- round glasses
- an old-fashioned red train
- flying keys
- potion bottles
- cauldrons
- spiders
- anything with a House crest or a Hogwart's crest such as key chains or jewelry, even Hogwart's playing cards would be a great addition
I added a small silver wand, a tiny unicorn and some dragons, and a Hufflepuff bracelet that we had on hand. Our dragons and unicorn came from the Safari Fantasy Fun Pack of Mythical Lucky Minis.
I laid out the items on the velvet back of the shadow box before I attached any of them.
You'll want the shadow box to last for as long as possible, without the items inside moving, which is why choosing the right method of attaching them is important.
You can use double sided tape for paper, pins for paper or fabric, but hot glue is the best for most three dimensional items. That means that 1) you need to be happy with where you put each item because it won't be easily repositioned and 2) you probably won't be able to re-purpose the items later if you decide to dismantle your shadowbox. For instance, I meant to point the wand up, not down, but I couldn't remove it when the hot glue had hardened.
Work in a well-lit area so that you can see how much of the hot glue you're applying. Remove any of the strings that come from pulling the glue away. Mistakes with the hot glue will show up in your final piece. Try to remove excess glue while it is still warm. If you miss some of the glue you can carefully trim it away with an Exacto knife once it hardens.
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| The (almost) finished product |
I decided my shadowbox needed another element so I ordered a set of tiny potion bottles. Each is less than 3/4 of an inch, including the cork. I figured that I could add Felix Felicis (pink) or Amortentia (gold) hand sanitizer to them to look like potions. I can use the left over bottles for jewelry or another craft project.
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