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=**Lightbox Podcast**=

media type="file" key="Lightbox Podcast.mp3" align="left" width="360" height="30"
 * Podcast:**

[For those who are hard of hearing, a text transcription of the audio in the podcast has been provided below]:
 * Text transcription:**

Hello, and welcome to a Podcast that I’m going to call Craft Corner. My name’s Alanna Olive-Smith and today I’m going to be teaching you how to make a personalized nightlight. This is essentially a wooden box that you construct, select a picture for, and then illuminate. Your finished product can serve as a gift, a unique source of ambient light for a room, a nightlight for a child or whatever else you so choose. This craft project should be appropriate for ages 12 and up. It does involve the use of scissors and a hot glue gun, so caution is advised. I’m going to start off by telling you what you’ll need before guiding you through the steps you’ll need to take to complete this project.

You’re going to need to have the following:
 * A flat surface to work on
 * A hot glue gun with the accompanying glue sticks
 * Two identical (preferably wooden) 5x7 picture frames (Now, these frames should have the glass picture coverings and the back stand, as you’ll need them later)
 * Something sturdy to hold your picture frames steadily in place while the glue is drying
 * Two large bags of clothes pins, the kind that are two pieces of wood joined by a coiled piece of metal, not clothes pegs
 * A dollar store nightlight
 * An extension cord
 * Scissors
 * Electrical Tape
 * A picture, sized to fit into your 5x7 frame (about 4x6 inches, this may vary depending on your image and what you want to be the focal point)
 * Optional items: beads, rope, or other decorative items to adorn the picture frames

Now that you’ve gathered all of the necessary items, I’ll guide you through the process of building your nightlight. Feel free to pause this podcast as you complete a step so that you can follow along. At the end of the podcast I’ll be asking you several questions to allow you to better assess your final product and see if you’ve followed along properly.

Step 1: Separate the clothespins into two pieces, removing the metal spring that’s joining them. Do not break the clothespins, simply twist them so that you have the two pieces of wood separated. You will need to have enough clothespins to go around the entirety of your 5x7 frames.

Step 2: Once you’ve prepared enough clothespins it’s time to turn your attention to the picture frames. If you’ve just bought the frames, disassemble them by removing the prepackaged picture, the protective glass, the backing stand, the cardboard and any other items. Do this until you just have plain wooden frames. Set the glass, backing stand and cardboard aside for later use.

Step 3: Stand the two prepared picture frames up parallel to each other. Both frames should have their longer side on the ground and their front side facing towards you. It is very important that both frames have their front side facing the same way. As you complete your box it will be necessary for the frames to have accessible backsides. Using a clothespin half from your prepared pile, measure out the distance between them. Adjust the distance between your picture frames until they are one clothespin half apart. You should be able to lie clothespins evenly across the tops of the picture frames, forming a roof. This will be how you’re going to construct the wooden box of the nightlight.

Step 4: Brace the picture frames with something heavy so that they will remain the appropriate distance apart. At this point, you will begin using your hot glue gun. With your hot glue gun, make a line of glue across the tops of both picture frames. Place the clothespins, flat side down, on these lines, joining the two frames. Aesthetically, alternating the direction in which the pins are facing creates a nice effect.

Step 5: Allow the glue to dry. This may take several minutes.

Step 6: Once the glue is dry, begin gluing again. You will be using the clothespins to create a box, using the picture frames as your basic structure. Glue clothespins to all four sides of the picture frames, allowing the glue to dry as needed, until you have constructed a solid wooden box. If you wish to, you may add decorations to the picture frame with its front on the outside of the box. If you followed instructions properly there should only be one such side. Do not add decorations to the other picture frame.

Step 7: Retrieve the glass that you removed from the picture frames in step 2 and, laying your box face down so that the picture frame you put in with its back facing out is on top, put one sheet of glass back into the frame. This piece of glass is going into the part of the box that is on the ground at present.

Step 8: Place your desired picture into the picture frame, behind the glass.

Step 9: Once you have the picture in place, put your second sheet of glass (from your second picture frame) in behind the picture. Using strips of the cardboard that you set aside in step 2, wedge the glass into the desired location by placing small strips in the corners of the frame.

Step 10: Prepare your nightlight by removing any sort of hood or covering, leaving just the bare bulb. Connect your nightlight to your extension cord and, without plugging in the cord, switch the nightlight to the ‘on’ position.

Step 11: Place the nightlight down in the center of your box (along the longer side if you chose to place your desired image horizontally, the shorter side if the reverse is true) and use electrical tape to secure it.

Step 12: Take the back stand of that you removed from one of your frames and remove the standing leg that flips out. You’ll no longer need it, since your box is thick enough to stand without a supporting leg. Also, the leg will no longer be able to reach the ground. Cut a hole for the extension cord at the back bottom center of the frame backing.

Step 13: Place the frame backing over the back of your box. If you followed the instructions in step 3, then the back of one picture frame will be on the outside of the box, making this step possible. Picture frame backings come with small metal clips that rotate to lock the frame in place. Use these to secure the back of your box. These clips will allow you to change out the nightlight or picture later, if you so desire.

Step 14: Set your completed nightlight down onto a flat surface, turn out the lights and plug in the extension cord. You should be seeing a pleasant glow emanating from your chosen picture, housed in your homemade lightbox. Enjoy!

As promised, I’m now going to ask you some questions to assess the degree to which you followed instructions.

Evaluation Questions:
 * 1) When constructing the box, in which direction should the picture frames be facing?
 * 2) If you find your picture warping or even catching fire from the heat of the nightlight, what have you neglected to do?
 * 3) How do you turn your nightlight on and off?
 * 4) How could you change the picture or the nightlight in your lightbox?
 * 5) What steps have you failed to do if your box is lopsided?

Evaluation Answers:
 * 1) 1. Both frames should be facing the same way. This way, when the box is completed, you will be able to put a picture in one frame and put the picture backing on the other, sealing in the light.
 * 2) 2. You should be using the glass from the picture frames on both sides of your selected picture to protect it.
 * 3) 3. For the sake of convenience, you’ll be turning your nightlight on and off by unplugging it and plugging it in as necessary. You will have switched your nightlight into the ‘on’ position, before securing it with electrical tape inside of the box.
 * 4) 4. You can change the picture in your nightlight with the metal clasps that secure the picture frame backing. By removing the frame backing, you have access to the inside of the light, and can change whatever elements you desire.
 * 5) 5. If your box is lopsided, you’ve failed to line up the clothespins and brace the frames so that they would not move as you glued the clothespins to it. It’s also possible that you did not give the glue a long enough chance to dry before proceeding to the next side.

Now, in assessing how well you’ve followed instructions you can look both to your completed project, which should be a sturdy lightbox and these evaluation questions. If you found yourself unable to answer the questions adequately, there’s a good chance that you did not listen to the instructions thoroughly or follow them clearly. You should have been able to answer all of the questions correctly based on the instructions given to you and your own guided experience as you made the lightbox.

That concludes this session of Craft Corner, in which I've taught you how to make a lightbox. I hope that you enjoyed your time here and that you've got something great to show for it!

=Lightbox Imagery Example: = []

The creator of the lightbox is free to put whatever image they desire in their box. The creator of this site has chosen to provide some visual examples on the "Phase" pages of this site. This particular image comes from the video game, " Ōkami ". The URL link to the image is provided above.