Ocelot Convention Shadowbox

History:

The Ocelots are planning an on-line convention. 12 volunteers were rounded-up to work on doorprizes. The doorprize projects are being kept secret from the rest of the group, until the projects are completed.

Each of the volunteers started with the same basic materials: A shadowbox measuring around 7 x 9 x 2.5 inches, a halfscale door, a halfscale window, and a halfscale door knob. The theme is "Mini Doors for Mini People". We were each assigned a month, and were told we could do any bashing we wanted, but try to fit to the month we were were assigned, and try to fit the theme.

Planning:

My month is January. January isn't a very interesting month, so I had to give some thought to how I could give the shadowbox a 'January' feel. There is New Year's Day, but that lasts only one day. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday is an important event, but people don't usually decorate for it. So, I thought about what people do in January, and determined that people around here get away and enjoy the outdoors with winter sports such as skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, etc. So, I set my roombox in a mountain location. What could be more welcoming than a warm winter cabin on a cold January day?

Once I had decided on the basic theme of my shadowbox, I could start planning the interior. I wanted to try to make log walls, and I wanted to have two walls joint to form an 'outside' corner.

I started by building matt board walls as a base. I cut holes for the window and door.

I constructed a chimney out of foamcore, and covered it with Creative Paperclay. I scored lines in the clay to form stones and mortar.

I took apart my panel door. A raised panel door seemed to elegant for a cabin. I planned on replacing the raised panels with flat panels and planned on installing a window in the door.

The walls are going up!
I made the logs from Crayla Model Magic, an air-dry clay. I rolled each log individually, and imprinted one end with circles to give the illusion of growth rings. After the logs were dry, I notched the bottom so it would fit over the log on the previous course, the same way real log cabins are constructed. After cutting a log to shape, I scratched it with the tip of a knife to give it cracks, then I painted it. After the paint was dry, I could glue it in place. Constructing a cabin like this is time consuming. If you hate shingling roofs in miniature, don't try this! Shingling is 4 times easier than cutting logs to fit.
The chinking between the logs is made from Tulip dimensional paint. The paint doesn't come in 'chinking' color, so I used white and put a wash of paint over it to age it.

While building log walls, I worked on other parts of the shadowbox. I made a stone foundation from Creative Paperclay, and constructed a porch.

I painted the window and door frames hunter green. I used the interior trim that came with the door to frame the window, and I added a windowsill.

The cabin is really starting to come together. A couple more coarses of logs, and the walls will be done. I constructed a roof. The roofing material will be replaced with roofing of a different color. The porch post will be a log, not a skewer.
Up to this point, the walls were not glued into the box. I still needed to finish the exterior of the box and put some scenery on the inside walls of the box.

Next page

	I started by building matt board walls as a base. I cut holes for the window and door.
	I constructed a chimney out of foamcore, and covered it with Creative Paperclay. I scored lines in the clay to form stones and mortar.
	I took apart my panel door. A raised panel door seemed to elegant for a cabin. I planned on replacing the raised panels with flat panels and planned on installing a window in the door.
	The walls are going up! I made the logs from Crayla Model Magic, an air-dry clay. I rolled each log individually, and imprinted one end with circles to give the illusion of growth rings. After the logs were dry, I notched the bottom so it would fit over the log on the previous course, the same way real log cabins are constructed. After cutting a log to shape, I scratched it with the tip of a knife to give it cracks, then I painted it. After the paint was dry, I could glue it in place. Constructing a cabin like this is time consuming. If you hate shingling roofs in miniature, don't try this! Shingling is 4 times easier than cutting logs to fit. The chinking between the logs is made from Tulip dimensional paint. The paint doesn't come in 'chinking' color, so I used white and put a wash of paint over it to age it.
	While building log walls, I worked on other parts of the shadowbox. I made a stone foundation from Creative Paperclay, and constructed a porch.
	I painted the window and door frames hunter green. I used the interior trim that came with the door to frame the window, and I added a windowsill.
	The cabin is really starting to come together. A couple more coarses of logs, and the walls will be done. I constructed a roof. The roofing material will be replaced with roofing of a different color. The porch post will be a log, not a skewer. Up to this point, the walls were not glued into the box. I still needed to finish the exterior of the box and put some scenery on the inside walls of the box.