by Jocelyn Huang

Add a mesmerising touch to your nights with this 3D paper lightbox powered by USB. It comes in dual-coloured lamps that exude beautiful hues of gradience, creating a lovely ambience in your living space.

If you are uneasy about having to create your own art pieces or worried about not having nimble fingers to do the craft, fear not. There is an array of paper designs that you could choose from, featuring romantic themes or docile animals for the lightbox. The sophisticated lightbox is designed to be assembled with little effort through the use of acyclic frames and cut-out papers. Yes, it is this simple!

Ms. June, the instructor from Craftyfox, had prepared seven different paper cut-out designs for 24 alumni who had signed up for the workshop on 16 March at SUSS campus. As alumni strolled in, they were requested to select their preferred designs. Materials provided at each seat included prepacked materials such as scissors, tracing paper, long ruler, one-sided foam tape, acyclic frames, black board and USB connector.

The workshop started with the measuring, cutting and pasting of 36 strips of foam tapes along the dull sides of the nine pieces of acrylic frames. These procedures might look effortless, but it took 30 minutes to complete. These were necessary steps to allow the forming of cavities for the 3D effect. The assembling of the main components, however, took lesser time than the pasting.

Once the foam tapes had been pasted carefully onto the acrylic frames along the outer sides, this was when the long-awaited moment arrived – the assembling of the lightbox! At this juncture, Ms. June reminded the alumni that if they wished to change their selected paper designs, they could do so before piecing them together.

Alumni then focused on placing their 12-piece storyboards piece by piece, alternating them with acyclic frames to make up the 16cm x 21cm x 4.5cm lightbox. Each piece was uniquely crafted, and when completed and compressed, it reflected a story that was different from the other paper designs.

Ms. June was professional and patient throughout the workshop and went through step-by-step with the alumni at steady pace, ensuring that everyone caught up before proceeding to the next step.

While assembling the lightbox, alumni who had attended with friends took time to interact. Some sought to get their questions answered, some indulged in perfecting their crafts meticulously, while others made new friends.

In just a couple of hours, alumni witnessed the fruits of their labour. The last step was to adjust the coloured lamps to suit individual preferences. They could either expose the bulbs for brighter colours or hide them under layers of papers for a more soothing ambience.

Alumnae Lai Sing Yee, Class of 2017, BA in Communication, and Ong Zhi Hui, Class of 2017, BSc in Finance, who had attended the workshop together, unanimously agreed that the workshop did not just offer a great chance for them to bond with friends, it was also fun and interesting. They were also delighted with their beautiful lightboxes. The workshop was well-received. “Absolutely wonderful!’ exclaimed alumnus Eugene Teoh, who gave a short and sharp answer.

The room was dimmed for testing of lightboxes, and each box glowed with its unique story, satisfaction could be seen on the alumni’s faces.