Materials Needed:

• Wooden Canvas: Choose a wooden canvas or frame as the base for your lightbox.
• White Gesso or Exterior Primer such as KILZ: For priming the wood for painting.
• Paint: Acrylic paint in your preferred colors.
• Drill: For creating holes to insert the fairy lights.
• Fairy Lights: Battery-operated LED lights (warm white or multicolor).
• Hot Glue Gun with Glue Sticks: For gluing the fairy lights to the canvas.
• Silicone Finger Cots: For protecting your fingers from the hot glue.
• Cardstock: Thick paper for the cutout design.
• Loklik Cutting Machine (or any other cutting machine): To create intricate designs.
• Decorative Printed Sheet of Paper: For the lighting effect. Just any design you save and print.
• Stick of Washable School Glue: For adhering the decorative sheet of paper to the cardstock.
• Wood Glue or Rubber Cement: To attach cardstock to the canvas.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Prepare Your Wooden Canvas:

   • Sand the wooden canvas to ensure a smooth surface.
   • Prime the areas you're going to paint, including the inset side of the canvas, with white gesso or paint primer. Leave the inset white. I just paint it white the white gesso or primer and leave it alone. This is so the light will reflect off the white background, rather than being absorbed by a dark one.
   • Paint the sides of the wooden canvas with your desired color. You can go for a rustic look with distressed edges or choose a clean finish.

2. Design Your Cutout:

   • Go into Canva and pick a design that is mainly a silhouette of whatever you want. The simpler the silhouette the better. (I explain this in more detail in the YouTube video at the bottom of this page.) I chose a fairy in the moon, which was of a higher difficulty level, as you'll see if you watch the video. You can choose a favorite animal, heart, mushroom, etc.
   • Save your design to your computer and import it to the Loklik IdeaStudio

3. Cut and Assemble:

   • Make sure the design fits within the dimensions of your wooden canvas.
   • Use your Loklik cutting machine (or any other cutting machine) to cut your design on cardstock that is of a color that coordinates with the paint and paper design you've chosen.

4. Drill Holes for Fairy Lights:

   • Using an 1/8th inch drill bit, drill a hole in the bottom right corner of your canvas. 

5. Insert the Fairy Lights:

   • Thread the fairy lights through the holes you drilled. Start from the back and pull them through to the front.
   • Using your hot glue gun, arrange and glue the lights evenly along the inside corner of the inset side of the canvas. Silicone finger cots will definitely help with this step. I got mine from the Dollar Tree. Just add the glue, then, press the light wire into it with your protected fingers. If you apply the glue too heavily, you will need to wait for the glue to dry to pull your finger away, as the glue will stick to the silicone if not. Blowing on it helps.
   • Apply hot glue to the back of the thicker part of the power switch and attach it to the back of the canvas.

6. Glue Your Printed Sheet of Paper to the Cardstock:

   • Place your decorative printed sheet of paper behind the cardstock design. Making sure the paper covers the complete design. I used Canva's AI image generator to generate my image, but you can use any image with a colorful background that will emit a cool lighting effect.
   • Secure it in place using the stick of washable school glue. Be sure to apply the glue to the cardstock design and not the paper, so the ink doesn't smear. Apply glue all the way to the edges of the cardstock and press down flat once you've lain the paper onto the cardstock. Apply glue in small sections at a time, and laying the paper down onto the section as you go along, so the glue doesn't dry before you put the paper down. Let that dry. Also, if you don't want to be able to see the lines from the paper, cut your paper to the same size as your cardstock. If your cardstock is bigger than your paper, glue another sheet of paper to the edges of the remaining blank cardstock, where the paper doesn't reach to the ends. This way you won't see the paper lines. (Learn more about this in my video.)
7. Glue the Cardstock to the Wooden Canvas:
   • Using a cheap paintbrush, apply wood glue around the front edges of the canvas.
   • Position the cardstock, flush with the edges, all the way around, on top of the wood glue.
   • Press the cardstock down and wipe away any beads of glue that seep out from between the wood and cardstock with a paper towel.
   • Turn the canvas over, allowing the cardstock to lie flat onto a protected surface, and allow the glue to dry for 2-3 hours. 

8. Optional Enhancements:

   • Personalize your lightbox by adding additional embellishments like tiny paper flowers, stars, or even miniature figurines around the edges of the cardstock.

9. Display Your Lightbox:

   • Hang your lightbox on the wall or place it on a shelf. It’s perfect for cozy corners, bedrooms, or as a nightlight.

Remember, this lightbox is not only a beautiful decoration but also a source of joy and comfort. Enjoy the soft glow of the fairy lights and let your creativity shine! ✨🏮

Feel free to share your finished lightbox with us—I’d love to see your unique design! 🌟

Tag us on Instagram and TikTok @sams.signature! 

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