A bucket of sand is the medium for illuminated images.
Sand art is a temporary picture or a series of pictures drawn in sand within a frame. A light box provides illumination from underneath, making the image glow and allowing you to draw even in darkness, as long as the box has power. You can film the drawing process to create your own sand art movie, or enjoy the process of drawing. Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on an artist's light box, you can make you own at home and save money.
Instructions
1. Measure your plastic glass and mark the measurements on your particle board with a pencil. Use any wood panel for this as long as it is wide, flat and larger than your glass. Measure 1 to 2 inches in from the glass measurements and connect the new measurements into a rectangle. Cut the hole out of the particle board with a saw, creating the opening for your light to shine through.
2. Place the glass on the particle board and align it with your markings. Attach the plastic glass to the wood, using wood screws and a Phillips head bit on an electric screwdriver. Position the screws between one-fourth inch to 1 inch in from the corners.
3. Measure the outside of the particle board to find the length of your sides. Cut pieces of particle board or wood to the length of all four sides of the table. Find the exact length of two sides. Measure the wood for the other sides by totaling the length of the other two sides, minus the width of the wood pieces you are using. For example, if your particle board is 22 by 18 inches and you are using two-by-fours, you will need four 18-inch lengths of wood -- two for the 18-inch sides and two to go inside them to make the 22-inch sides. If you are using half-inch-wide particle board strips, you will have two 18-inch sides and two 21-inch sides instead.
4. Add the sides to the light box. Use nails to attach one side at a time, to the base and to each other, until all four sides are together. The sides keep the sand on the table instead of letting it fall everywhere. Repeat on the underside to add supports for the lights.
5. Attach the lights to the supports on the underside of the glass. Use inexpensive halogen lights, available from your hardware store. Use lights designed for display cases if you want a large, bright box. Choose the touch lights for temporary lighting in attics and basements if you want to make it easier to change the lights later. Attach the light facing sideways, not upward, to reduce heat and protect your eyes while you are using the table. Add another piece of particle board to the bottom to keep light from showing underneath.
6. Add legs to the box to create a table. Decide what table height you want. A table for children playing outdoors on the ground will need to be lower than a table for adults sitting in a chair. Cut four two-by-fours to equal lengths and attach them to the corners of the box.
7. Soften the light shining through the glass if it is too sharp or hard on the eyes. Tape a large piece of white paper over the glass with painter's tape. This also protects the glass from being scratched by the sand, and it is replaceable if it gets dirty or torn. Add a few cups of fine-grained sand and your light box is ready for sand art.
Tips Warnings
When attaching plastic glass to wood, you may need to drill a hole before you screw. Use a plastic glass drill bit and drill through the glass.
If your particle board is not thick enough to use screws, use a liquid adhesive. Apply the adhesive to both the wood and the glass. Clamp the pieces together until they are dry so they don't come apart.
You can use pieces of your particle board to edge the box, but two-by-fours will be sturdier and you'll only need to trim the ends to the proper length, rather than cut strips of the particle board.
Paint the box to decorate it. Mask off the glass with paper and painter's tape before painting, to avoid any errant paint marks.
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