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10.22.2021

harvest moon shadow box

art,wall art,paper,paper crafts,pumpkins,Halloween,fall,DIY,diy decorating,home decor,thrifted,re-purposed,up-cycling,trash to treasure,dollar store crafts,fall home decor,Halloween home decor,Halloween decorating,haunted village mantel display,shadowbox art,Halloween shadowbox, miniatures.
miniatures are all the rage right now...
from dollhouses and tiny 'rooms' that sit on bookshelves
to tiny spaces behind walls and accessed by little 'fairy doors', 
it's a trend that engages our childlike imagination.

i was inspired by that to create a sort of miniature setting,
and chose to use a shadowbox frame as the structure for it.
a simple project that took very little time to assemble,
it makes use of items i have used in past projects...
and i hope it will inspire you to try something similar!

continue reading to see how it all came together...

the frame itself is large - the opening is 12 X 9, and about 3 inches deep - and made of plastic.
it's covered with flocking for a velvet-like black finish.
(it appeared in one of my previous projects, linked below this post)
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i began by choosing one of my white ceramic houses from my collection
(i found them at Target, Dollar Tree, Michael's, Joann, and Big Lots!)
selecting one that fit the scale of the opening.
i also grabbed my tiniest pumpkins - made from baking soda clay (link below post)
and some yellow and black & white printed paper.

one large piece of the black & white paper fits the back of the shadow box
and also comes down onto the bottom.
a different print paper forms a ridge of hills in the background,
and is joined to a third piece that creates smaller hills in the foreground.
i cut those out separately, and used a loop of duct tape between them
to add a bit of space for the effect of 'distance'.

when i sat them in the frame, i inserted a circle cut from yellow gift wrap
and positioned it like a moon rising over the hills.
it's held in place with a small loop of duct tape.

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as i began adding the tiny white clay pumpkins, 
i decided i needed a 'tree' silhouetted in front of the moon...
so i grabbed a twig from the pile of garden clippings in my yard!
i did paint it black, just to make it blend in better. (it was kinda' reddish)

now that the inner vignette was complete, i added some details around the frame:
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on top of the frame, another part of a twig pairs up with some black resin 'lacy' leaves,
a yellow ceramic pumpkin, a white pumpkin, a black Sweet Sweater Pumpkin,
and a sparkly black crow just because i had him!

next to the frame, sitting on the credenza in my studio, i added more pumpkins:
two yellow, two white, and one black & white striped Sweet Sweater Pumpkin.
with a few more black resin leaves and a yellow paper circle that repeats the one in the shadowbox,
the effect is of a complete composition both inside and outside of the frame.

if i had decided to hang the frame on the wall,
i might create a similar grouping on a table or small shelf below the frame.

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i like the crisp graphic nature of this color palette,
and the suggestion of 'spooky' without it being ghoulish.

it's easy to picture this with orange accents instead of yellow...
even with neutral tan or metallic gold or silver in place of the black!

now... let's look at how a similar idea plays out as mantel decor, shall we?!

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to create this arrangement, i used all of my small ceramic houses,
along with the branches and white mini pumpkins from the shadowbox.
i've also added a small ceramic cup, which sits upside down here
looking very much like a ghostie when two black ovals are drawn on as eyes!

the yellow 'moon' behind them is a plastic plate, painted yellow.
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each of these houses have an opening in the back, to insert a battery operated candle
OR to tuck a few mini lights inside and let the rest of the strand run the vignette.

art,wall art,paper,paper crafts,pumpkins,Halloween,fall,DIY,diy decorating,home decor,thrifted,re-purposed,up-cycling,trash to treasure,dollar store crafts,fall home decor,Halloween home decor,Halloween decorating,haunted village mantel display,shadowbox art,Halloween shadowbox, miniatures.
psssst! i can picture this with spooky charcoal or black houses, too...
and maybe an orange 'Great Pumpkin' face rising behind them?!!!


links to previous related content:


shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycled projects to make #600

creatively beth | creative crafts linky party #65

art,wall art,paper,paper crafts,pumpkins,Halloween,fall,DIY,diy decorating,home decor,thrifted,re-purposed,up-cycling,trash to treasure,dollar store crafts,fall home decor,Halloween home decor,Halloween decorating,haunted village mantel display,shadowbox art,Halloween shadowbox,
miniatures.

2 comments:

  1. How sweet!!!! I love miniatures although I don't have any at this time. One of these days I will get started-AGAIN! xo Diana

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    1. thank you so much for your kind comment, sweet Diana! i don't have miniatures, either... this is just my way of using what i have to jump on the trend! ;)

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