Butterfly Shadow Box!

So I really love the way this Shadow Box turned out and it’s one of the crowd favorites among family and friends. So a few months back my grandfather had passed away and while my older sister took my mom to the funeral in Texas me and my husband stayed and went over and stayed with my dad as he couldn’t travel that far because of health. So while over there we ran to Dollar Tree and when I showed him these packs of over 30 paper cut out butterflies when we returned to the house he really liked the yellow monarch butterflies the best and I decided to make him a butterfly shadow box.

So I bought three 5x7 picture frames and decided to keep the white they were as it would look nice when paired with all the colors. So I took the top and middle frame and removed the prongs from the back. Next I took Aleene’s tacky glue and glued the back and middle frames together. Taking wet Q-Tips I cleaned away any glue that seeped out the sides and then once it was aligned well I set aside to dry. Taking the first frame and the glass pane I had washed with soap and water I took hot glue and put some in the corners and sides of the frame and put the glass pane down but then because this one kept shifting I had to reinforce with extra hot glue over the edges of the frame.

I then took my frames and lined then all up the way I wanted and placed the hinges how I wanted on the side and made marks on where they would go. Using my electric screwdriver I drilled holes where I had made marks. With these frames going slow and holding the frames helps and controlling where its drilled so it doesn’t come out the front or back of the frame or crack it too badly helps. Then one at a time I used the electric screwdriver and lining up the hinge I screwed in the screws and if I went too fast or in too far I would take it out and do it again so I didn’t crack the frames.

So at this point I added these really cool pink translucent butterfly stickers to the front pane of glass, three of them going from top to bottom at an angle.  So because this shadow box is to open the inside of the glass pane has all the hot glue and didn’t look so nice so I used some small butterflies from the pack of paper butterflies and glued them in the corners as if flying from the inside which covered much of the glue and looked cool as well.

I did the backing of the frame next because I really needed that done to do the rest. I used the part of the butterfly scrapbook paper that I liked the best and lined it up to the backing of the frame and traced, cut out and hot glued to the backing of the frame and then put it on the frame. So at this time I was able to add the copper wire LED lights and butterflies. So I put the copper wire LED lights in first and strung it through the back at the top so the battery pack would be in the back. So really it was work maneuvering the string lights to tuck here and there between the top and middle frames inside without having to glue or tape the string lights which looking back I should have because they cause problems with the next step.

So next taking some thin wire use hot glue and glue the under side of the butterflies to the wire and then tuck and maneuver the wires inside the frame kind of underneath the frame inside, hard to explain it was trial and error. My dad liked the yellow monarch butterflies and I used a big one and some small ones but also did a mixture of other butterflies so it would look as if with the background they were different varieties of butterflies flying forth from the frame when opened. Because of the LED wire lights moving it would move the wires the butterflies were attached to so some butterflies fell out or as we say were trying to literally fly away lol! But basically just stick them back in but if you want maybe tape of glue the string so it won’t move and so it won't bother the butterflies. The small wire string glued to the butterflies worked great because it allowed them to move when the door is opened which made them look real as if flying so that part I did really like I just wish I had a different way to make the wires stay put.

Next I took some of my magnet strip and cut four pieces to fit each other and put them at the bottom and top inside so that it would keep the door shut. Now word of caution with front opening shadow boxes that go on a table they lean forward when open and so they have to rest on the open door but I’m sure if hung on a wall it wouldn’t be that way but either way you have to be careful or something could be broken.

Now I can’t remember if I did this before or after putting the butterflies in but probably would be best if anyone does this to do this as the last step. I had bought some fairy garden ceramic figurines at dollar tree in the spring and so I only had a turtle, frog and owl and I intended to use the owl as its one of my favorite animals on a later project and the turtle and frog were in my 3 level DIY terrarium. So I decided the turtle was cuter than the frog so I cleaned him off and used hot glue at first to attach him to the front frame as a handle but it was too slick and wouldn’t work so I used E6000 glue and attached the turtle and left it to dry over 24 hours and I have to say it’s the cutest handle for this shadow box and I’m glad I went with it.

Then using a piece of fastener I attached the battery pack to the stand on the back of the frame and that’s it.

This turned out so beautifully and my dad was surprised and he loved it and couldn’t stop looking at it and couldn’t wait to find a spot to put it. First it was on the TV stand now it’s a centerpiece on their dining room table.

My dad has Alzheimer’s and though he won’t remember all these things forever right now we make little moments special in the moment and he does still remember a lot as its not very advanced yet but we all try and live and make each day a good one!

• 5x7 Frames- $1 each at Dollar Tree
• Pink Translucent Butterfly Stickers- $1 at Dollar Tree
• Pink, Blue and Yellow Monarch Paper Cut Out Butterflies- $1 for each of the packs of over 30 at Dollar Tree
• Copper Wire LED Lights- $1 a pack at Dollar Tree
• Butterfly Scrapbook Paper-$1 at a local scrapbook store
• Fairy Garden Ceramic Turtle- $1 for a pack of 3 different fairy garden animals or fairies at Dollar Tree during spring
• Silver/ Grey Hinges- $1.68 or so at Walmart and I can’t remember the size I just know they weren’t small or large just a medium but not sure on what the size was on the package
• Magnet- $2 or $3 for a big round strip of magnet at Walmart
• Thin Wire- Free for me as my husbands grandma gave it but it should only be a few dollars at any craft store or even hardware store
• Fasteners- a few dollars at Wal-Mart or $1 for fastener dots at Dollar Tree