I've wanted to make an Ark of the Covenant since I was a kid! This one was built half scale (I just don't have room to store a full-sized one). It's all wood covered in gold paint ("24 Karat" brand - the best), except the cheribum. They were carved out of craft foam (The kind used for dried flower arrangements - I don't recommend it) covered with plaster and painted. the top comes off so you can store stuff in it. The wood was all purchased from Home Depot. The flat panels are hardboard and the rest are various types of trim.
Recently the cherubim were saddly destroyed. Not by my children as I supposed they would, but by me. I knocked it over while on it's shelf and it tumbled over and crushed the angels. The new angles will be even cooler!