George and Jacqueline Schmidt of Screech Owl Design have built a colorful life almost from scratch.
by Sonia Zjawinski
Photos by Kim Cornelison
Tracey Stewart of Moomah came up with the original concept for these dioramas and Jacqueline and George brought them to life. The result is a sort of low-relief three-dimensionality.
Pick out a box and beautiful wallpaper or wrapping paper for the background. Cut to size.

Find images you like in magazines, postcards, or comic books and cut them out. Prepare the scene with any figurines you want to include.
Glue regular old thumbtacks to the back of your cutouts. This will allow you to move and stand up your images so they’re in the foreground.

You can use double-sided tape or a hot-glue gun to affix figurines to the box.

Once assembled, attach a nice ribbon to the back of the box with glue or small nails, and hang it on the wall.