So this past weekend I started on my first big prop for my carnival haunt, my Twisted Toybox!
I meant to start up my carnival booths but I am still in the process of drawing up the plans for them and didn't want to rush through them. The toy boxes seemed to be a project that were a little less complicated to so I got started with them.
The construction of the boxes are pretty simple as you can see in the picture below. Now I didn't build a full frame for the first one because I had some left over pieces of furring strips that I was able to use to join the panels together but for a more sturdy design I would suggest framing it out first than adding your side panels.
You can see in the picture below that the furring strips were used to join the panels together. Like I was saying, normally there would be a full framed out box built first but because I had these individual pieces left over I opted to re-use and recycle!
Once I built the basic box I added moulding to the 4 corners of the box for both safety and aesthetics. I think it will help the boxes look more polished in the end. I am still playing with the idea of using thicker molding to frame out each panel but in order to keep cost down I might just stick with what I have.
Next I decided I didn't want the boxes to lay flat on the bottom and wanted to give them a little extra height so I added small 2" legs to the box. I think it gives the box that little extra something and if I made smaller versions like this it may be interesting to see them stacked on top of each other with a little space in between provided by these legs.
Next on the list for the box is adding it's lid with hinges so that it can open and close. I may instal a mechanism that opens and closes the lid or I may choose to make this into a Jack in the Box and have a handle that slowly spins but I will decide that as I move along. I intend on making two more of these in small and medium sizes so I can do something different with each if I am feeling ambitious.
For this specific box I want to try and actually print the designs for each of the 5 panels on a water proof canvas then apply those canvas designs to the wood. I think this would give the boxes a unique look rather than painting on them. Other options were to dress each panel with 1 inch foam and carve in designs or cut out diecuts in each panel, add plexi glass and light the boxes from inside. Again...I am still playing with these as I go and will be making at least 2 more so I can still play with a few of these ideas but if any sound interesting and you would like to see them please feel free to comment.
I've got lots of work ahead of me but I am up for the challenge and am looking forward to watching this haunted carnival come to life! I hope you guys enjoy the ride as I start my prop building for the season.
Stay Frightful!
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