DIY Sacred Heart Pocket Shrine

Oh how I have been wanting to make a pocket shrine for a LONG TIME now.  And I have been putting it off because of the supplies that are needed to do this project was a bit intimidating.  But hopefully I have made things a bit easier for you with a downloadable set of images! 

I forced myself to stick to craft items that I already had on hand for this project. 

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• An Altoid-like tin
• Spray Paint
• A PDF of the Sacred Heart Images and Devotion
• Scissors
• Glue (I used Modge Podge and a Hot Glue Gun)
• Pipe Cleaners
• Acrylic Paint and Small Brushes
• Scrap Cardboard (optional)
• Small Flowers

First, you need to color your small tin red.  I started to paint it with acrylic paint but it was covering terribly.  Save yourself some time and use an outdoor paint that will bond to metal. 

Next you need to cut out the images on the PDF.  It is a good idea to make as sharp of cuts as possible on the scroll and the heart to make them look three dimensional. 

I started with the red “wallpaper” by fitting it inside the lid of the tin.  You press the paper down inside and crease the corners so you know where to trim them.

You can see the bent corner here.  Trim that off on all four sides and glue (Modge Podge) it in.  Repeat for the Sacred Heart Jesus and Mary photo on the other “bottom/inside” part of the tin.

Once your images are trimmed and glued in securely you can work on layering.  Layering is what makes a pocket shrine visually interesting so don’t shortcut here!  You can see on the left I have taken small pieces of cardboard and hot-glued them in the center of the lid.  This is to make the scroll stand out away from the background. 

The next step after gluing on the scroll was to hot glue the flowers into place.  Odd numbers are always good in art and design and luckily the three I had fit perfectly!

A gold pipe cleaner was added last to the inside portion of the shrine and this is a job FOR ADULTS ONLY!  I burnt myself more than once!!!

On the front I wanted to make the box interesting enough that someone would want to open it if it were ever found in a drawer someday.  So I decided to use the Sacred Heart here and paint as well.  Make a few marks with a pencil to know where the placement of the heart will go and then remove it.

Start painting with a green color.  The acrylic paint took several coats and I made simple swirls to look like stems as well as a few leaves.

Now you can glue (Modge Podge) your heart on. 

I’m the last person to profess to be an artist, but I do know a trick to making mixed media art look good.  Paint on top of the image as well!  Here I am going over the leaves.

And adding a little light pink…

… and red.  Don’t forget to do the roses in the middle of the heart!

I added some dotting detail as well.  You can do this with the back of your paint brush.  Let the paint dry.  This should take 15-20 minutes.

Brush on a heavy layer of Modge Podge to seal your work.  Let dry and you are DONE!

I think I achieved my goal of making the shrine inviting from the outside. 🙂

And it’s just lovely to have open as well. 

I think I am going to plan this as a craft for my 4th/5th grade PSR class!  I will let them make one for themselves and one (or more!) to share with those in our parish whom are hospitalized or home-bound!  I hope this project blesses you and many others!