DIY POCKET SHRINE
May 7th, 2020
by Savana Ogburn
As someone who is obsessed with things (in a chic way, not a hoarder way), it’s important for me to be surrounded by my treasures constantly. A perfect way to keep your most precious things on you while you’re on the go - even when “on the go” means traveling from your room to the couch - is to make a pocket shrine.
This craft is one of my favorites for a few reasons: it’s tiny, made out of super accessible supplies, and can be as elaborate or simple as you’d like. Also, I should note that this is a GREAT craft to do with friends via FaceTime/Zoom/whatever. I mailed the supplies (minus glue) to a couple of friends and we had a lovely virtual crafternoon. Can’t recommend it enough!
Suggested Materials:
- Empty matchbox
- Glue (I recommend hot glue but tacky or super glue also work)
- Scissors/X-acto knife
- Things to decorate with! Think: paint, magazine clippings, rhinestones, sequins, and even tiny tchotchkes like Barbie shoes or little troll dolls. The crazier the better, in my opinion.
Steps:
1. I like to work with the matchbox disassembled. I went ahead and put a layer of pink paint on the outside part of the box so that it had a few minutes to dry while I worked on the inside (a hair dryer is great for expediting the process!).
2. I chose to decorate the inside portion first. I hot glued my little troll and beads in until I was happy with the way it looked. Then, I painted the outside of the box with neon yellow acrylic paint.
3. While that dried, I returned to the outside part of the box and decided that I would make a little window so that the troll on the inside could be seen. I carefully cut out an oval with my X-acto knife and glued a small piece of transparency paper (unnecessary but kind of funny) to the inside of the oval. Note: if you decide to add transparency paper, use regular glue as hot glue will melt it immediately.
4. Then, I glued on a bunch of rhinestones. You could obviously also use fun paper, photos, draw on it, etc. I also hot glued a couple painted rocks to the back to act as a kickstand. The sky's the limit, y’all!
This is the final pocket shrine! Obviously this is a super open-ended and personal craft, so you can take or leave my instructions. Go forth and make something cute!
Savana Ogburn (she/they) is a photographer, collage artist, filmmaker, and set designer based in Atlanta, Georgia.
