Inspired by the Disney movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" I created this Pirate Cave roombox for my sister.  I started with a wooden roombox by Old Mountain Miniatures.  I glued some scraps of wood in to create shelves, ledges and stalagtites.  The brown toothpick holder is the base for a waterfall and puddle when the scene is completed.

Wiring the box was the hardest issue - I didn't want the wires running down the exterior back of the box.  So I had to drill holes in the floor and run the wires up to where the candles and lantern would be located.  And then I covered the wires with the spackle to hide them.  However, I had to wait for the spackle on the "shelves" and ledges to dry so that I could glue down the candles before I could spackle over the wires running down the walls.

Using spackle, I patted and pushed until the walls resembled craggy rocks.  Then I painted the spackle in various stages with watered down paints in grays and black and brown stain.  In the one photo the walls have the brown stain on them, yet the floor and part of a wall remains only water-washed in the paints.  What a difference the stain can make!

The finished box is lit up with candles and a lantern.  The treasure chest I made from an empty box from a craft store and I filled it with foil, stones, beads and golden miniatures.  The table is an altered log cabin table with Houseworks newel posts for legs.  Both items were stained and "aged".  The Jack Sparrow doll is by Patsy Thomas.  And the waterfall was made with plastic cling wrap and Scenic Water.

Not shown: the framing of the roombox was trimmed with replica Pieces of Eight coins (Pirates' booty).