Ten Two Studios

To make your winged widow shrines, you’ll need:

• From Ten Two Studios, a winged matchbox shrine sheet. I used the Winged Widows Matchbox Shrine sheet for these samples. Also, a matchbox, tiny bottles and skull beads if you want them for the inside of your shrine.

• A sheet of chipboard.
• Acrylic paint.
• A glue stick, and E6000.
• Chalk inkpads, if you wish.
• Sharpie markers.
• A craft knife.
• Brads and a tiny hole punch.
• Sequins, rhinestones, feathers, or any little decorative bits.
• Sharpie markers.

Remove the trays from the matchboxes, and paint them with acrylic paints. Only the interiors will show in the finished shrines. Set them aside to dry.

Roughly cut out the figure, wings and hat you’d like to use for your shrine, and glue them to chipboard.

Use sharp detail scissors to cut the pieces from the chipboard.

Cut the guide from the shrine sheet, and compare the length to your matchbox tray. Trim it down to the correct height for your matchbox BEFORE you use it to mark the opening.

Position the guide on the figure, and decide where you’d like your opening to be. Trace the outline on the figure. If you’ll be cutting doors rather than cutting a hole, be sure to mark the center line indicated on the guide..

If you’re cutting a hole, go ahead and cut around all four sides of the traced shape, using a craft knife. If you’re cutting doors, just cut the top and bottom, plus the center line.

If you’ve cut doors, you’ll want to score the hinges on the wrong side. Use a ruler to make a shallow cut on the chipboard. You can use the guide if you wish, lining up the top and bottom edges.

Flip the figure over, place it on a flat surface, and gently pull the doors forward while pressing the figure flat.

If you see white bits around your cut edges, tone them with a chalk inkpad.

Cut about half an inch from the center front of the matchbox sleeve.

Refold the matchbox as shown, with chipboard on the outside, and the tabs made from the front of the box folded outward.

Apply glue to the tabs, and apply them to the back of the figure. Position the sleeve so it fills the frame you’ve cut. If you have doors, you’ll need to bend them open to do this step.

While the glue is still wet, slide the tray into the sleeve. Make sure it fits into the frame, and there are no gaps or open spaces. Remove the tray and let the sleeve dry. I usually apply a bit of tape to the tabs before I slide the tray out, to make sure they stay put.

When the glue is dry, trim away any parts of the sleeve tabs that stick out around the figure.

Apply glue to the back of the tray, and slide it back into the sleeve.

If your shrine has doors, punch holes in them with a tiny hole punch, and insert small brads as doorknobs.

If you wish, line the doors with decorative paper included with the sheet. Split the larger block of red print in half, and glue one half on each door.

Use a red Sharpie to fill in any areas on the door left exposed.

Cut the smaller block of red print from the sheet, and use it to line the back of the shrine opening.

If your figures have hats, glue them in place now. One hat looks best with a small slash in the brim so the head can be inserted through it, and the other can be applied flat.

If your shrine will have wings, bend them slightly to create a flat spot in the center.

Apply glue to the flat spot, and press them in place on the back of the figure.

I made stands for my shrines, so the figures could stand up on their own. Cut a two inch square of chipboard. Score the square about 1/4″ from either side. Cut diagonally from the top of one score line to the bottom of the other to create two triangular pieces. Fold the scored section of each piece to create the stand.

Apply glue to the tab of the stand, and press it in place on the back of the shrine. It will stick to the back of the matchbox sleeve, and extend below it.

Decorate! I used bits of feathers and rhinestones on the figures that didn’t have hats. I filled the shrines with tiny bottles filled with glitter, plastic spiders and skull beads. I added words edges with chalk inks.

These ornaments were made using the Christmas Fairies sheet. I just added a ribbon loop to the back of the figure before gluing the wings in place.