Growing up I had a hamster named Hambino. He was a tad bit overweight, hence the name, but he was a loyal friend for about a year of my young life. When he passed away suddenly for some reason (my mom still won’t tell me why), I felt the need to give him a proper burial. I put him in a shoe box and dug a nice hole in the backyard, covered it back up, and put a makeshift cross above ground. I said goodbye and to be honest haven’t thought about the great Hambino until this idea popped into my head. If only there were tombstones as awesome back when he was around…
This is how I built a graveyard scene for all of my GI Joes, TMNT, Ken Dolls (not ashamed to admit that – the ladies loved when I played Ken), and dead animals (just kidding!).
Here is a list of the other supplies you will need:
- Mini Materials Tombstones
- Mini Materials 2x4s
- Shoebox, or other cardboard box
- Moss, grass or some other type of greenery
- Box cutter
- Paint
- Permanent marker
- Hot glue gun, with extra hot glue sticks
1. First you will want to get a nice shoebox, or other unused cardboard box. Use your box cutter to cut the excess cardboard off from the front of the box. Then paint the back and sides with black paint to create the background, or night sky.
2. Use a permanent marker or paint pen on them to write creative sayings or epitaphs. RIP will already be on them, but you can color in the RIP or turn them around and use the back if you don’t want the traditional RIP.
3. Once the paint is dry on the sides of the diorama, you can begin placing the moss you have collected to the bottom of the box.
4. Now you can begin figuring out where you want to place each of the tombstones. Glue each of the tombstones to the base of your shoebox and move the moss, dirt, sand, and/or other greenery around each to make a nice base.
5. Your last step is where you can get even more creative! Use your imagination and create a super fun diorama, with a fence and a moon... the options are endless. You can even use Mini Materials' 2x4s to create the fence!!!
There ya go! Hambino would be so proud!
