To create a desert diorama, begin by painting the background sky blue with just a few small clouds. Spray adhesive glue to the bottom of the box, and then quickly sprinkle sand all over the sticky area to establish the desert floor. Cactus plants can be made by painting small pieces of hard foam green and gluing them to the desert floor. Connect toothpicks, and add a little green fuzz to them to form cattle spinach plants, and place them throughout the diorama as well. Sculpt small snakes, a great horned owl and a few small lizards with modeling clay. Add the animals to the diorama once they have dried.
Paint the top of the background blue to resemble the sky, and fill in the rest of the background with images of painted ferns and tall trees such as the kapok. Cover the rain forest floor with moss. Fake moss can be purchased at local craft supply stores. Build three-dimensional trees by using paper towel rolls for the trunks and waxy green paper for the leaves, and fill in the foreground with them. Create ferns with green paper, and position them near the base of the trees. Form small animals such as chipmunks, deer and a red fox with modeling clay, and set them in the foreground in various positions.
Cut cloud shapes from white pieces of paper, and paste them to a blue background to establish the sky. Buy fake grass or use assorted colors of green felt paper to cover the prairie ground with. Make small bushes by coloring round pieces of hard foam dark green, and paste small colored flowers made of construction paper on them. Arrange the bushes in small clusters, and glue them to the prairie floor. Purchase buffalo models or create them with clay, and set them so they appear to be grazing.
Paste dark blue construction paper on the background of an ocean diorama to establish deep water. Cover the ocean floor with dark brown and black sand. Place a few large rocks in the foreground. Make kelp by tying long pieces of green tissue paper to green pipe cleaners, and form plant-like colored tubes with modeling clay. Position all of the plants throughout the ocean floor. Make various aquatic life such as octopus, dolphins, starfish and sea turtles with construction paper, and hang them from the top of the diorama to simulate a swimming effect.