As an amateur crafter and devotee of the always useful glue gun, I’ve long been a fan of shadow boxes as a way to display pictures and special family mementoes. I come by it naturally, as a child I remember my mother creating beautiful hanging shadow boxes for the Christening gown worn by my sister and me, as well as an unusual box for a fabulous wood carving done by my maternal great grandfather.
Having just visited my sister’s home I came across two shadow boxes that made me smile. The first was one that I made after the college graduation of my oldest nephew. It included pictures from the big day, Native American art objects (He is a member of the Chickasaw Nation), vintage postcards of the college, as well as a little something special. His graduation speaker was the former Senator Mark Udall (D-CO). As life would have it, I ran into the Senator at the Durango airport, following graduation, as I headed back to my home in New York. I skirted up the security line to ask if I might be an “autograph” for Benjamin. He signed one of his Congressional business cards, congratulating Benjamin on his achievement.
The second shadow box honors my sister’s husband’s parents who enjoyed a story book courtship during World War II and a long, happy marriage. The shadow box contained wedding pictures, love letters exchanged during their separation, his pocket watch and more.
These shadow boxes are super simple to create with items from craft stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby or others. All have three-dimensional picture frames (shadow boxes) plus anything else one might need for such a venture: mats for framing, charms, beautiful handcrafted papers, and more. These collages create interesting displays of objects that would otherwise be hidden away for safe keeping or stashed in a scrap book.