Friday, March 23, 2012

Shadow Box from the Dollar Store

Whenever I ask for feedback about Domythic Bliss, one thing that is often brought up is the desire for more advice on how to decorate in a Domythic way that's affordable. I also have a lot of people ask for more D.I.Y. posts. There's an added challenge to these two requests, and I've mentioned it a time or two already...Domythic style is all about creativity and individuality. Therefore, it's difficult to do a post on affordable decor when much of what you can find that fits the bill will be obtained through garage sales and antique stores (and are one-of-a-kind). And of course it's challenging to do D.I.Y. posts when the most Domythic of the D.I.Y. projects are ones that are quite open to individual expression and putting your own mark on a project. (A perfect example of this is Windling Trees...we have a whole forest of trees forming from blog readers and artistic minds who are painting trees on their walls, but each one has its own character and style)
But I'll try!

So I wanted to start a series on Domythic Crafts. Most of these crafts may not seem very Domythic at first glance, but the important thing is to keep your mind open when looking at crafting sites and projects. Today's craft is one I first saw in the book called The Big-Ass Book of Crafts 2. Almost all of the crafts were very colorful, quirky, and modern-art-esque, but this particular craft idea struck me as extremely versatile and potentially useful.

This craft works well for a Domythic home because there are so many potentials for narrative items to put into a shadow box! Create a multi-level diorama from pictures cut from a fairy tale book. Or follow Bryony Whistlecraft's brilliant lead and create an "Evidence of Faerie" display utilizing local magical items you find. Gather your materials and put them in this shadow box made exceedingly affordable.

4 comments:

  1. What a timely posting of yours, Grace, I have just logged into your blog to look for ideas for our new studio room.

    I am less bothered by DIY and more looking for inspirations. Thank you for trawling the net for ideas and putting them in one place.

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  2. We've made quite a few shadowboxes like this, using new and vintage frames. They are perfect for displaying little collections of treasures.

    My not-so-secret source of awesome finds is TK Maxx (or TJ Maxx in the US). I love that place! You just have to be prepared to go in every week and hunt through the broken and ugly things to find the good stuff :)

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  3. Charlotte, glad to help! There will be much more inspiration and DIY to come :D

    Bryony, I love TJ Maxx! Home Goods is owned by the same company and I looove them too.

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  4. I've done something like this before and what looks really nice is if you finish it off with some of this kind of paint: http://www.arizonagourds.com/PatinaPaints.html
    Michael's sells another brand of this paint and you can get a lovely copper patina or a cool gothic looking aged iron finish. It's super easy to do and looks great.

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