My meditation light box came into fruition from working on multiple papers for my college English Comp class. This whole journey started with an assignment to brainstorm a list of likes and interests for a possible topic for our first essay of the class. Meditation and yoga has been a part of my life for a few years so that's the direction I chose to go in. Little did I know that the next 2 essays would be tied together by the same subject.

The second essay is what reunited me with Instructables.com . I must admit I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed looking through this great community of ideas since I started going back to school. I completely forgot that I had the slightest bit of ability to create anything. So, with this second essay, we had to analyze a project found on Instructables.com, this started me down the path of finding inspiration for this current project and essay (Sorry not sharing that here lol). I loved the idea and look of this Lotus meditation cube https://www.instructables.com/id/Lotus-Meditation-Cube/ I just don't have access to all of the necessary items or skills needed to make my own. But...it got me thinking. I really light the candle lanterns made from Dollar Tree picture frames that I've been seeing for the last year or two. So, why not combine the two ideas?!

I discovered along the way that this makes a great customizable piece of decoration you could use as a permanent decorative fixture, or children’s night light in your home. Another wonderful idea I came up with is you could easily swap out your decoupaged panes with a different theme every holiday. Heck don’t glue them together at all!

I did a practice run at decoupaging a pane of glass before recording my project. It’s hanging in my office window, I’ve decided to call it my “poor woman stained glass”. Feel free to borrow that idea and steal the name.

P.S. I discovered I didn’t know how to spell scissors when typing out my instructions (thank you Microsoft Word for catching my spelling errors). Since I know my friends enjoying learning of my struggles, I shared it with them. They of course laughed at me, but the joke is on them, they couldn’t either. Thank you, Lincoln Public Schools!

So back to the subject of my meditation practice.. I’ve been slacking lately but my devotion to my self care and self growth is still a major priority in my life and has been re-ignited thanks to my meditation light box (plus I can’t stop admiring it, I’m looking at it right now)! I hope you enjoy my spin on things!

Step 1: Supplies

Almost all supplies can be purchased from the Dollar Tree (only exception I believe is a glue gun)

4 picture frames (mine were 4x6)
Decorative napkins (or tissue paper or decoupage paper)
Elmer's glue (or modge podge)
Disposable container
Water
Brush
Glue gun and glue sticks
Scissors
Flameless candle
Protected work surface

Optional:
Cardboard & foam sheet
Marker

Step 2: Gather Supplies and Set Up Work Space

After preparing your work space and gathering the supplies you will need to mix up your adhesive mixture. It is 2 parts Elmer's glue to 1 part water.

I made my mixture in a disposable condiment cup and stirred it with a disposable plastic knife.

Step 3: Decoupage Glass Panes

Start by disassembling your picture frames. I chose to remove the metal tabs before reassembling later on, but it is not necessary.

Apply a thin even coat of your Elmer's glue water mixture (or modge podge) to one pane of glass at a time. Next carefully line up your paper and apply to the glass. The mixture will dry clear. You can do a single sheet (napkin) as I did or layer shapes, chunks or patterns. Carefully smooth out any air bubbles and set aside for drying. Continue in this manner until all 4 panes of glass have been completed.

I let mine dry for about 6 hours, then cut the excess napkin material off with scissors. You could speed up your drying time with a hair dryer set on a cool, low blowing setting.

Step 4: Reassemble Frames

Note: I chose to remove the metal tabs from the frame making this step necessary. Feel free to leave the tabs alone so they can be used to secure the glass panes in place.

Carefully place your decoupage glass back into frames and secure with a continuous bead of glue from your glue gun. I let mine dry over night before continuing on to the next step but within a few minutes your glue should be cooled and set.

I practiced the modge podge technique on a spare piece of glass before filming the project. It looks pretty sitting in the window. I'm thinking about doing a few larger sized frames to hang in my sun-room.

Step 5: Assemble Sides

Now we are ready to start assembling our lantern.

This is the most difficult step. Carefully hot glue your first 2 frames together. Give the frames at least a minute to cool before moving to the next frame. Making sure the whole time that the frames are lined up and firmly pressed together. Repeat with the third frame, working carefully so you do not separate your first 2 frames. When gluing the final frame, I found it worked best to stand the frames on end and reached in to glue the final 2 seams. Note: I would not suggest going any smaller than 4x6 with your frames. It was a tight fit to get the glue gun in there for the final bit of gluing.

Take the time to play with assembling the frames before starting. You don't want to discover half way through that you made a placement mistake.

Step 6: Add a Base

For the base I cut a chunk of cardboard from a random box I found in the garage. Next, I drew an outline of the light box and then cut it out. I then trimmed it up a bit to prevent the base from being larger than the lantern. I felt like I wanted the base to blend in with the colors of the frame and paper when looking down in it, (though not necessary) so I also cut a piece of black foam sheet to size and glued them together. Once the glue was cooled I glued the base to the frame. Note: I placed glue on the cardboard base then added the base to the lantern. I would suggest placing the glue on the frame and then apply the cardboard to the lantern.

I let the box sit for a few hours with a decently weighted plate on top to ensure the base stayed glue to the frame before moving it to its new home.

Step 7: Add Light!

Last but not least add a candle, turn out the lights and enjoy!

After thought: If you leave the tabs alone you could switch out the glass panes throughout the year. It would make a nice decoration that could easily be changed for every holiday.