Tutorial: Jurassic Frame

Rawr!  Isn't this fun!?  And the best part is that it cost me $2!

After the jump you can see a full tutorial brimming with photos and helpful hints so you can make your own prehistoric photo holder.

First, let's start by getting our materials together.
You will need:
-Some dollar store animals (jungle, prehistoric or otherwise)
-Spray paint in the color of your choice
-Saw
-Glue (superglue pictured, but I now prefer E-6000)
-Small magnets
-Styrofoam balls of various sizes
-Scissors
-Cardboard or newspaper to spray paint on

   With your saw, cut the dinosaur(s) in half.  There is a seam in the plastic, but you don't have to perfectly follow it.  I cut near there and the toy didn't break or rip at the seam.

    After I sawed them in half, I was a little displeased with the result of the edges, so I took a sanding block (you could use a nail file as well) to clean up the jagged edges.

   After that, head outside with your cardboard or newspaper to get spray painting.  I have several tips that I have learned the hard way.  Less is more!  Keep the can about 6 to 12 inches away from whatever you are spray painting, and do several light sprays past the dinos.  Don't worry about getting perfect coverage on the toys, you can do more coats and readjust the toys for the next coat. 

   This what they looked like after one coat.  There were lots of non-white spots on the underside of horns, feet and other parts, but I resisted temptation and just let them dry.  I did another coat about 2 hours later.

    Once the dinosaurs pieces are dry, take the styrofoam balls and try to choose one that will fit the best inside of the dino cavity.  This was definitely trial and error for me.  As promised by this blog, I have several "Don't do THIS!" moments in this project.

Don't use super glue!
And choose styrofoam that fits more tightly

   This is a picture of why I would advise that you not use super glue and also, choose a larger piece of styrofoam that what looks right.  The superglue almost melted the styrofoam.  It certainly didn't stick to the dinosaur, so when I went to glue the magnet on, the styrofoam ball fell into the toy.  Sigh...

Sad face...

Take 2:  Shove that styrofoam in there!

    You can use scissors to cut the excess styrofoam. After that step, you are ready to glue.  Beware!  There are two big mistakes about to happen.  

  Everything seems great!  I have my magnets glued...

       I woke up this morning to try it out.  Unfortunately, I didn't really consider that magnets either repel or attract each other.  Wouldn't you know that I would glue them the wrong way!  Grrrrr.  So I ripped them off and glued two new magnets correctly.

   The last thing to remember when you are gluing is that the two magnets should line up so that your toy can stand.  Success!  Now let the photo shoot begin!

Turn to the left!

Turn to the right!

A view from the top.

So that's the project!  Including drying time, it will take two days to complete.  It only took about an hour of active time.  I can't wait to find new animals and try different colors or project ideas.

Budget time!
$1 - two pack of dinosaurs from the dollar store
$1 - styrofoam balls from the dollar store
$0 - E-6000 glue  (This is one of my favorite glues that I always have.  You can find it at Target, Michaels or almost any craft store
$0 - white spray paint (another thing I always have)
$0 - mini magnets (Mine were left over from a failed project.  You can get some at Michaels for a few bucks)
TOTAL: $2!  I'm feeling pretty good about that price tag!