As many of my friends know, I am rather obsessed with mini worlds--from magical fairy lands to intricate snow globes--just about anything else tiny enough for my imagintation to get lost in. As I was exploring lesson ideas for this month’s theme of value (the relative lightness or darkness of color), I stumbled across an idea on Pinterest (see very last pic at bottom) and immediately lit up with inspiration!

finished pieces from our Saturday 7-9yo class

With a quick screenshot and a lot of inspiration, I set out to achieve a grand landscape of my own but on a much smaller scale. After a little brainstorming, I was able to create a special, personalized world of my own, and was pumped to share the process with my students. I absolutely love how this project allows you to explore a monochromatic color scheme (different shades of one color) simply by adding in a little brown or white. Additionally, this project teaches the space and perspective through the layering of each piece. Creating depth by choosing how close or far apart you want certain pieces to lay in the landscape. I also recommend adding any smaller details (windows, flowers, animals, etc) in a complementary color, which is the color opposite to yours on a color wheel. I love the way the orange/blue combo turned out in my demo (see pic below).

I’ve written out a step-by-step tutorial so you can make an adorable little world of your own. This blog post contains affiliate links. Enjoy!

The following materials are needed:

· A wooden shadow box (without the glass)

· Heavyweight paper

· Black sharpies (thick and thin for drawing in those details)

· Brown watercolor paint

· Acrylic paint

· Scissors

· Ruler

· Paintbrushes

· Tacky glue (Elmer’s school glue will also work)

· Cardboard or foam board (a 5”x5” piece should be plenty)

Optional:

· Tissue paper (I used orange to make my poppies)

· Construction paper

· Tiny rocks, moss, shells, etc.

· Yarn

· floral wire

· Colored pencils

Instructions:

1. Decide the color you want to stain your shadow box with. Paint on watercolor and let dry for 30 mins – 1 hr. (Hair dryer works great to speed up the drying process) *Note: adding a drop of red will give a nice warmth to your brown watercolor, as pictured below.

2. Using a ruler, measure the interior dimensions of the box. Make 6 blank “cards” the size of the interior dimensions using heavyweight paper. I like to use the first one as a template to easily make the rest from. Cut them out and use your acrylics to paint each one a different hue (experiment by mixing a little brown, white, or black to the color you choose and see what you get!) Allow 30 mins – 1 hr to dry.

3. Once dried, choose one color to use as your background piece and make a simple border with a thick sharpie. Dab with tacky glue and press firmly (trim to fit if necessary). Cut out any remaining shapes you’d like for your landscape using each remaining painted card. Think: trees, hills, mountains, skyscrapers, waves, grass, etc. Also think about texture: Is your hill smooth? Do your mountains have jagged edges? Etc. You’ll want to choose 4-8 larger shapes, as this will make it easier later on.

4. Add a border to each piece of your landscape with your thick black sharpie. You can also add in any details with your thin sharpie at this point. Think: windows, leaves, flowers, doors, texture, etc.

5. Cut 1 small piece of cardboard per landscape piece. Ex: If you have 5 different pieces in your landscape, you would cut 5 small pieces of cardboard to go with each. The cardboard should fill as much of the background as possible, while also remaining hidden. Aka: it should not be sticking out of the sides, top, or bottom. Then glue a piece of cardboard to the back of each landscape piece. *Make sure to glue it so the landscape piece and cardboard are level at the bottom, which will help keep it supported after gluing. (see pic below)

6. Dab the bottom of each landscape piece with glue and place in desired area. It should hold up pretty well because of the cardboard, which also works as a spacer to create a sense of depth. Your pieces should “overlap” at some points, making things look closer or further away.

7. Use your tacky glue to add in any materials to further enhance your little world! Now is your chance to bust out that shell collection in your bathroom, or grab those tiny pebbles from your driveway that constantly get stuck in your sandals. Additional fun details such as tiny animals are great. This may be done by drawing them on the heavyweight paper, cutting them out and gluing in. You can also glue twine, beads, sequins…just about anything you think would add to the magic.

Here are some examples of finished in our Saturday 7-9 year old art class. The first two are my demo both with and without details added on the wood frame.

I look forward to seeing the many worlds you come up with! The pic below is the original pic from Pinterest that inspired this project.

Miniature Landscapes by Sarah Kaplan