The idea for this came in a round-about way.

I don't actually make a diorama in a sardine box or can. I use a sardine box as part of a diorama.

This stemmed from a little gift. I have a neighbor who knows I love sardines. One day while shopping he spotted some sardines so he bought a couple of boxes for me.

I also have a youtube video for at the bottom of the page.

The sardines were great. But I was particularly enamored by the boxes they came in! Typically sardines come in a can and the can is printed with all the information. I liked the idea of the boxes and I liked the boxes themselves.

I figured I would do something with them. But not sure what. So I put the picture in the community chat of my youtube channel and asked for ideas. Sure enough, I got a lot of ideas from subscribers - including using the boxes as miniature billboards.

Great idea! And this is how this particular project was born!

So I bought a diorama making kit from Amazon. I ran down to hobbylobby first and they have some kits but my local HL didn't have this one with the water effects.

It's the Scene-A-Rama Water kit by Woodland Scenics. Available on Amazon right here.

Here is a picture of the complete contents of the kit. It is quite comprehensive. It has everything you need to make a very nice diorama. There is only one thing it doesn't have - a base. In the first picture you see the diorama on a rectangle shaped wooden base. You don't get that with the kit.

But, you can make one out of cardboard, foamboard, or any kind of wood like plywood.

If you make one out of cardboard or foamboard I recommend you make a double thick layer for strength.

But I really like that wooden base - so I went ahead and made a similar one out of cardboard. And I have a one page template for you. It shows the dimensions so you can easily make one too. The template is right here And you don't have to make it the same size as mine. You can make it any size you want.

Okay, Let's get to making this fun little diorama

You can watch the video tutorial right here without leaving this page: