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Here is the link to the original light box posted here: click here

Here is the link to biscuitandbook's fantastic pointers that really helped me figure out how to plan this! click here

Here is the run down of things I used:

• 9x12 Watercolor paper cut down to size of shadowbox frame
  
• 8x10 white shadowbox frame from Joanns (50% on sale so I got it for only $10!)
  
• Mechanical Pencil
  
• Exacto Knife (I specifically used this one by Fiskars. I know some people like the small swivel one, but I found this one so much easier to control and very comfortable. I don't care for the small rotating kind because I personally feel they are not easy to control. The trick with a standard exacto knife is to rotate your paper instead!)
  
• Double sided mounting tape (the thick kind, like this Scotch tape)
  
  Procedure
  
  The first thing I did was come up with an idea of what I wanted to draw. I knew I wanted to draw a forest scene and incorporate a wolf and owl. I used Hari & Deepti's works as inspiration and to help me come up with an idea. You can see their work here. I specifically pulled from this piece to find out an idea of how to draw the forest scence.
  
  Next, I sketched out my idea on a piece of watercolor paper. Watercolor paper is best for this because it is very easy to cut, but also allows light through and can support itself. Cardstock was too thick and I found after a few tests that it did not shine through as easily. When I sketched, I tried to create the whole piece and look without worrying about layers, just focusing on the foreground, middle, and background that I wanted. I adjusted as I went. Pro tip: I suck at drawing realistically, so for the wolf and owl I found stock images of them and put the paper on the computer screen and traced. Much easier and so much less stressful!
  
  To begin the layers, I looked at my sketch and started from the top and worked my way back. I eyeballed my sketch as I drew the first layer. To begin, it is much easier if you cut out the general shape first and then work on the small details in each layer. For example, the top layer's tree branches were not cut in the first go. I cut out the ground and trunks, but left the tree branches as a huge piece at the top. It wasn't until I went back and focused on the details that I started to cut branch by branch. If you do trees in yours, I also recommend starting at the top and working down when you cut leaves/branches. The first layer I did from the bottom up and I accidentally snipped off areas for nice branches...
  
  After cutting all of the layers out, I then worked from the back up, that way I could attach the mounting tape as I went. This allows you to have a good visual of what is popping out and what needs more support. For the mounting tape, it is best to keep to the outside edges so you can hide the shadows. Mine generally is only on the edges, except for one piece behind the wolf to make him stand out. A little goes a long way! Especially when you are using the thick kind of tape! (Seriously buy the thick kind, it makes life soooo easy!)
  
  As you build up your layers, you will find it magically starts to come together. Each layer had me so excited...! To keep track of how your picture is coming along, it is really easy to just hold it up in the air in front of a light. I kept holding mine infront of my lamp. The light comes through and shows you where you might need to double up on some of the paper so it is dark where you want it to be.
  
  After that, pop it in the frame and add on some lights to the back! I have yet to add lights to mine as they have not arrived yet, so definitely check out the two original posts I linked to above to help you out! Mine is just tested with christmas lights behind it temporarily.
  
  Seriously, try this out! It looks so complicated but it is sooo fun and I can't stop looking at it! You will find that the layers really do all the work and make a beautiful piece! If you have any questions, I will be happy to help you out as best as I can. :)
  

You can find books and videos on working with wire to make fancy links or simple jump rings to make a variety of different kinds of chains. There are also books on wire wrapping to make settings for stones and bands for rings, etc.

I don't have my jewelry books handy at the moment, but I recall this one being a good book for beginners - and you can get a used copy on Amazon right now for around three bucks plus shipping. This book is a really good one on chain making. It's apparently out of print but still available new through Amazon affiliates for less than half its original price. I don't own this book, but it looks like it has a few different interesting techniques for wire working.

I'd HIGHLY recommend practicing with plated or filled/layered wires to begin, because of the expense. I picked up a roll of bare aluminum wire at Home Depot really cheaply a few years ago, to try new techniques. If I remember correctly it was used for electrical fences, which is why it was uninsulated. I've also used heavy copper wire to make stuff, after stripping off the insulation.

When you buy wire, the smaller the gauge number the fatter the wire. Really thin wire is often too flimsy for jewelry - unless you're doing something special, and really heavy wire is usually too clunky - though if it's fat enough you can file and hammer it to get some interesting textures.

Ultimately it would be really good to learn to solder with a torch, to close up all of the links in your chains and join pieces together, etc., but leaving links unsoldered when you're first starting out is usually OK, as long as they don't snag on stuff.

Good luck.

Canvas boards are cheaper than box canvas and are a good place to start.

Acrylics are not as scary as you think. They dry faster than oil, of course, but you can experiment with things like stroke texture and thicker layering (impasto).

One method for creating abstraction that you may enjoy that will help you learn technique is taking an image and zooming so far in that all you recognize are shapes and color. No one else will know what the zoomed out image is but you. :)

Also check out this book:

Harley Brown’s Eternal Truths for Every Artist

It’s funny, accessible, comprehensive. Like having a sassy older mentor artist hanging out with you while you work.

Best of luck to you in your artistic adventures.

Hey everyone! Thanks for the nice comments. Here is the process. I’m posting exactly what I used but obviously brand or material or process replacements can be made:

Materials:
4” x 4” x 8’ fence posts (triangles)
1” x 3” x 8’ pine slats (frame)
3/4” Hardwood composite plywood cut to size Home Depot will do this for you (maple, birch, etc)
Gorilla wood glue
Latex house paint samples of various colors (blue, purple, red, yellow, black, white)
Paint brushes
WATER-BASED aerosol polyurethane spray - satin
Wood stain for frame (dark walnut)
Brad nails (for frame)
Heavy duty hanging kit

Tools:
Table saw (with angled blade)
Miter saw
Circular saw
Brad nailer

Step 1 PUSHA PUSHA: Turn the 4” x 4” x 8’ fence posts from a rectangular prism to a triangle prism using the table saw. We’re going for perfect equilateral triangles here, so set your table saw to a 30 degree angle. Push the post through (I did this in smaller pieces). On the second pass, turn it around and get the other side of the triangle. And BOOM, you have a equilateral triangular loaf or log or prism or whatever. Do the rest of the 4” x 4” x 8’ fence posts. Looks like this:

[ ] -> [ ‘ \’] -> [‘/\’] -> /\

Step 2 CHOPPA CHOPPA: Use the miter saw to slice the triangle loaves into triangle slices. I didn’t use a guide for this (and I don’t think you should either) to get triangles of varying thicknesses. This added a little sumthin sumthin to the finished product and I dig it. Just remember that your finished product is going to hang on a wall, so don’t make your standard thickness ultra thick or the finished piece will be heavy af. A lot of my smallest triangles were only 1/4” at most, and I made the variety of bigger ones based off of that.

Step 3. CENTERING: Find the center of your plywood sheet using a t-square or whatever else is accurate. MAKE SURE YOU DON’T MESS THIS UP. You will love yourself a lot more later on if this is absolutely correct and spot on.

Step 4 PLACING: Take all of your triangles and place them where you want them. I started shallower in the middle with less variance, and used the chunkier ones with more variance towards the outside. Also sand any rough edges so they fit better.

Picture

Step 5 PAINTING: Now you need to paint Every. Single. Triangle. This is a painstaking process; I won’t lie. I started with pure white, and then ever so slightly ramped up the color as I went along. Take the pieces off, paint them, let them dry, then place them back. I tried to get a little funkier as I worked my way out, but tried not to deviate too far from the color palette. That being said, DON’T BE AFRAID TO RISK SOME WEIRD COLORS. I honestly didn’t think the pink, or aqua, or maroon would work in this, but I think those colors add a lil sumthin sumthin. Also, try not to paint too many of the same color. Add a splash of something to each triangle to change the color. Once all of your pieces are painted and placed back on the plywood, give yourself a pat on the back, and then switcheroo anything that you think needs switching.

^maybe invite some friends over for this step. It’s daunting even for two people.

Picture

Step 6 GLUEING: We found the best way to do this, while not completely messing up the layout, was to do it line by line from the inside out. This is to ensure that you don’t box yourself in (since slight inaccuracies in the triangles are gonna happen and everything won’t line up perfectly perfect). We used the leftover wood to hold the triangles in their row order while we put the glue down, and then just placed the triangles back where they went. Just use your head here and try to be as accurate as possible. Also remember to not use a ton of glue, or you’re gonna have a huge mess. A nice thin layer will be fine. Let everything dry.

Step 7 TRIMMING: Unless you’re a magician, you’re gonna have triangles hanging over the side of your plywood (or maybe you didn’t buy enough fence posts and you already returned your table saw to Home Depot so you couldn’t make any more triangles so you just had to settle for a slightly smaller product than you wanted WHICH IS FINE) Anyways, use the circular saw to trim off the excess triangles around the edges. Try to keep your lines straight here or your frame is not gonna fit well. Use this if you’re loaded.

Step 8 FRAMING: Measure your frame wood against the now-trimmed plywood. Use the miter saw to cut the 45 degree angle needed for the pieces to line up. After cutting, stain the frame pieces and let dry. Lightly glue the piece onto the plywood and brad nail into place (into the plywood, not the triangles)

Step 9 FINISHING: Use compressed air or a brush to get rid of as much dust and sawdust as possible. Then use the polyurethane aerosol spray to give the whole thing a coat. Don’t forget the frame too. Wait about an hour and then repeat. Repeat until you use the can up.

Step 10 HANGING: Center the hanger on the back of the plywood and screw into place. Then screw the other cleat onto the wall making sure you hit some studs for strength. Bask in the glow of your new art.

AND THEN YOU’RE DONE. Don’t be intimidated by the novel of instructions I’ve written. If you are intimidated (or lazy) go buy a piece from the artist that inspired this: Michalovic Wood Art

Sorry if the format sucks; I’m on mobile.

This is a really cute idea. Have you thought about self-publishing?

In January I self-published a picture book through Amazon's CreateSpace.

Pros:

• Because I was able to do everything myself (copy writing, illustrations, book layout, cover design, etc.), my total cost of production for the entire project was little more than the $10 I spent on clay to make the gnomes.
  
• The book is available for sale on Amazon and prints on demand.
  
• I set the price of the book myself and collect monthly royalties for each unit that sells.
  
• I can order copies of the book at cost and take a hundred of them to a craft fair to sell in person, or put them on consignment at a local gallery, or offer them at wholesale to an independent book seller, or basically do whatever I want. I'm the boss of my book.
  
  Cons:
  
  
• I didn't have a team of editors with years of experience in the publishing industry to advise me on the project or suggest revisions.
  
• If I want the book to sell, I have to market it myself.
  
• The book is available in paperback only.
  
• I have heard some authors express grievances with Amazon's "expanded distribution" sellers (do your research on this subject if you publish through CreateSpace), so I opted out of this channel.
  
  For me, self-publishing was the way to go because my only real goal was to create a book. I had an idea, thought it would be really fun to try, and seeing the project through to completion was a rewarding experience in itself.
  
  If your goal is to sell thousands of copies and outsource production of your monsters to China, you'll probably want to align yourself with an agent and/or publisher.
  
  If your goal is to put something out into the world because creating it makes you happy and it has the potential to bring happiness to others, then don't wait for a publisher to validate your awesome idea. Assess how much of it you can do on your own, and if there are aspects you may need help with (graphic design, copyediting, etc.), enlist the help of friends, or network with friends of friends, and see if you can't collaborate.
  
  Good luck!

I bought all my material at Aaron Brother's, a bit pricey but they had a buy 1 get 1 free on pretty much every piece I needed for the project. The case it's in is called a keepsake box. I used watercolor paper by Canson, but any cardstock type paper would do (think thickness of greeting cards, maybe a bit thicker). Each layer is spaced apart by two piece of doublesided thick sticky tape to give it more depth. And for the lighting I cut a small hole in the back of the box and used http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00713R2ZK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (straightforward to use, cost a few more bucks but I think the convenience is worth it. And as for the whole design, I just had a few ideas in mind and did it free hand. But the key thing to think about it how much of one layer will cover the other, and to make sure you have enough space to put everything you want into the picture. Make sure to keep checking your progress in between every layer. Hope that helps! Ask if you have any specific questions I forgot to mention.

>Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you don't just get a new Kindle case?

Yeah. The old one is called a Leisure Jacket. It wasn't waterproof but it was great for pool and beach use to protect against splashes and sand. But it was made for when Kindles still had page turning buttons on the side. There is nothing similar at all for the touch models -- your two choices for the touch models are glorified ziplock bags or very expensive Fort Knox type contraptions that are very difficult to change out easily.

The new Kindle coming out, the Voyage, actually is bringing back a form of buttons with page turn sensors on the edge that respond to a squeeze, which should work perfectly with the Leisure Jacket. But M-Edge isn't going to be making one (I asked them) and nobody else made something similar.

>I'm sure you could find someone on Etsy or Craigslist who'd be happy to try it

I am totally unfamiliar with Etsy... how does one go about making a request like this there? No sentimental value, this is purely practical.

Well you could use a clear spray varnish like this clear Varathane or Neverwet. But I don't know about those being dishwasher safe or food safe if that's what you're looking for. But since it's on the outside of the glass as long as it has about an inch around the top for where you drink from the food safe shouldn't be a problem.

Otherwise Mod Podge makes a finish that is dishwasher safe which is what I always recommend.

good luck!

I went to amazon and ordered these lights and this adaptor. I haven't gotten them in yet, but I'll let you know what I think of them when they do. They seem pretty straight forward but you never know with these kind of things haha.

As for preference of white vs warm (yellow), I used christmas lights and a white fluorescent lamp as different backlighting to see which I liked more. I picked the white because I felt it had a more mysterious/ night time feel (just my opinion haha), but all the Hari and Deepti ones use yellow light so it's all up to personal preference. Post pictures of yours when you finish! I'd love to see how it turns out! :)

There were two Klutz books back in the day for polymer clay, and each came with 8 half-bars of Sculpey III (a low-quality polymer clay); they wouldn't have the clay still included though if purchased at amazon, eBay, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Clay-Book-Klutz-Press/dp/1878257730
https://www.amazon.com/Create-Anything-Clay-Sherri-Haab/dp/1570543275
Those were very simple books oriented toward kids, and almost entirely small sculpted items in the second book (the first book had more techniques), but I see there's at least one newer Klutz polymer clay book (not by the same author/s though) on making sculpted "charms":
https://www.amazon.com/Klutz-Make-Clay-Charms-Craft/dp/0545498562

There are better books for those things though, even for simple sculpts (including "charms") like these for example:
https://www.amazon.com/Clay-Play-JEWELRY-Terry-Taylor/dp/0486799441
https://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Clay-Cookbook-Tiny-Jewelry/dp/0823024849

But there's also loads of FREE info, tutorials, etc, online at YouTube and at places like my website for making things like that, and many other things with polymer clay.

Inspired by a recent trip to Peru and being surrounded by colorful pom poms. Utilized a pom pom maker purchased from Amazon link


To get them super fluffy, I used a dog brush to brush out the strands

Not sure what to do with them yet but leaning towards making a garland to hang in the guest room 😊

Have you considered getting a plain piece of glass, tracing the borders onto the new glass and hand painting a new frame? Your mom would like it even more because you did it by hand, even if your painting is a little uneven. Use a sharpie or "china pencil" to trace the design, then something like this

https://www.amazon.com/FolkArt-Enamel-Ceramic-Assorted-Licorice/dp/B000BQ5H2E

to paint the "frame" onto the glass.

Alternatively, you could get some black poster board and cut out the squares where the pictures are, maybe using tracing paper to get the layout of the frame.

I've never used it personally but I know that Mod Podge makes a dishwasher safe sealant that I've heard good things about.

I appreciate the feedback so far!

I'm still doing some research. When I went to JoAnn's earlier I explained the situation and had someone recommend the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Technology-16-Ounce-Pour-Finish/dp/B000LNS9CW

I thought that what's essentially a varnish of sorts was an odd idea, but bought the box as I had a 60% off coupon, and figured I could return it if I end up not using it.

Does anyone have any experience using a product like this? Would it do the job?

If she's interested in continuing with the clay, I had this book when I was a kid and I loved it. I think my mom still has some of the figurines I made from it, haha.

thank you :) and I got the pattern from this book

I make stitch markers, which involves gluing beads to metal. I really like this Insta-Cure+ Medium Gap Filler . It’s stronger than E6000 and doesn’t have the stringy factor. However, it is a liquid with a very thin viscosity, so it will “run” if it’s not a flat surface.

One of these!

https://www.amazon.com/Oggibox-3-Cavity-Silicone-Custard-Coaster/dp/B07DWRJKXG/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=FSBGDPO39B09&keywords=resin+coaster+molds&qid=1574347332&sprefix=resin+coaster+mo%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQjFJUkJSOUJWSFVFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTk4Nzk0MTJHS0RXVEpDS0ZFWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDM1MDU3MU04S0pQN0g5NFBDQSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

​

But you can find all kinds of cool molds on amazon.

Do a search on Amazon with ''round resin coasters mold''. You should find something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/6-Cavity-Silicone-Coaster-Non-Stick-Dessert/dp/B07PLYTC38/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=resin+coasters+molds&qid=1574348296&sr=8-6