St. Valentine's diorama

I wanted to make sisters Monika and Christine Valentines dioramas for February the 14th. I wasn't exactly sure what scene to display, but after I found some cute little polar bears (picked up last time I was visiting Monika in Burbank), I knew that a lovely little arctic scene-in-a-box would be just the ticket...

The first step was picking up a vessel for the diorama. I chose this little wooden box from the craft store.

The aforementioned bears became the inspiration. They are actually quite small, which is good, because the box is small and the arctic is very, very big.

I began by painting the bottom of the box with a cold-looking bright blue shade for the water.

Next, I needed to create a platform to make the iceberg. This would also house the bear. I used gray card stock so that if any of the paper showed through, it wouldn't severely contrast.

After the iceberg was constructed, I covered it in tacky glue and cotton balls. This represents the ice and snow...obviously.

I also thought it wise to add some light blue glitter to the iceberg.

What's a St. Valentine's Day polar bear diorama without hearts? Nothing. Which is why my polar bears had glitter hearts applied to their rumps.

While I let the glitter dry, I started adding all the details to the diorama. The whole point of a diorama is to create dimension. I painted the back and side of the box to look like the background in the arctic. There are other little mini icebergs floating throughout and some ripples in the water. I also decided to paint the rim of the box pink for Valentine's Day.

I applied a touch more blue glitter on the bottom, so it showed around the rim of the iceberg where the polar bear sits.

Presto change-o, scene complete. 

If this doesn't scream Valentine's Day, I don't know what does. I painted a personalized lid, attached a ribbon to the back of the box so that it could be properly affixed to the wall, and shipped these darling dioramas to Spokane and Burbank for the sisters to enjoy.

Now go make a diorama!

*I used acrylic paint

*The glitter is from Martha (Stewart)

*Bears from kit krafts in Studio City

**Nicholas didn't understand what to do with the dioramas, but I'm certain that the sisters had no problem figuring it out.