shoebox dioramas+
panoramic sugar eggs
Shoebox dioramas were my specialty in the fourth grade. Using paper, sometimes clay, scissors, glue, crayons and a shoebox (the ones that my dad's or Uncle Ernie's shoes came in were best, because they were so LARGE), I enjoyed re-creating scenes of Native American and pioneer life--particularly Gold Rush scenes of Forty-Niners.
When I was even younger, it was a special treat at Easter to receive a beautiful sugar egg from my Grandma, a magical confection that had a tiny peephole and a detailed scene inside. We had to keep them on her dresser for a week or two and enjoy looking at them before we were allowed to eat them.
So some time last year, right before Christmas, my inner child came up with this project for Spring and we've been working on it off and on for weeks: It's a desktop diorama!
Peek into this little shadow box and you'll be transported into Rhonda Rabbit's peaceful garden where she'll invite you to relax a bit and commune with nature.
I hand-crafted this mini diorama/shrine/tableau using a "tin" (actually steel) spice box, plus hand-cut paper Rhonda figure and details using a mini-print of my watercolor illustrations made on heavyweight paper.
The box measures 3" square and is 2" deep. It has a clear plastic window in the front.
I hope your inner child enjoys it as much as mine does!
I've just listed two of these Rhonda desktop dioramas in my Etsy shop at this link: Rhonda Desktop Diorama
Oh, this is so cute! I want to try this, too.
ReplyDeleteOooh, so lovely!! Very beautiful and unique!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous idea! Very cute. Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeletealright - this is great! so glad you came by and added to the whimsy
ReplyDeleteI'm having so much fun! There are many more in the works...
ReplyDeleteWonderful! The photo itself if a work of art. I know the actual piece is even better. I love it.
ReplyDeleteThat's cute. It'll be very popular. You don't want to meet my inner child though.
ReplyDeleteThat's where dinosaurs, zombies, werewolves, swords, sharks, giant Devonian fish, saber tooth cats, very large cats with very large teeth and wizard battles come from. He likes to play a black-hat good guy, a Zorro rather than a John Wayne sort.
What he wants to do is someday paint a really good dinosaur or saber tooth cat painting, something that could go in a museum it's so accurate and beautiful as a painting. Getting closer all the time!
Where he's constantly indulged is having a faithful shaggy Siamese cat with rather large teeth who's always there to be petted. The tiger you can hug.
Robert
Oh now you've gone and woken him up too.
ReplyDeleteI want one of those old time dinosaur kits that actually had all the bones, not just simplified to a few snap-together pieces. The ones that took forever and a day to put together but were completely realistic. Had a couple of them as a kid but my dad got the fun of assembly because I was too small.
Robert
I feel totally inspired, want to go make one with my fallingladies with all sorts of stuff in the clouds falling along with her...
ReplyDelete-Andrea
It's so cute! I love tiny dioramas.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad everyone's inner children have been stirred. Robert, I'm laughing picturing a feline fella in a Zorro hat with a Siamese cat and a box of dinosaur bones!
ReplyDeleteYou're it - you're this week's Wizard of Whimsy! CONGRATS on your new found powers
ReplyDelete@ http://dthaase-lines.blogspot.com/p/whimsical-wednesday.html
Congratulations on being the whimsy wizard of the week!!!
ReplyDeleteWell deserved!
Oh my goodness! I came back from vacation to discover that I'm a Wizard of Whimsy!! I'm honored and do feel 0h-so-powerful! Thanks!!
ReplyDelete