Shadow Box Showcase

My dad flew a B-17 bomber during World War II.  The plane took so much gunfire and flak the crew had to bail out before it crashed.  Dad was captured by the Germans and spent 2 1/2 years in Stalag Luft III, home of the Great Escape.

My dad is deceased now, so my family made a shadow box honoring him.  It includes the triangle folded American flag presented at his death to my mother, a photo of him in his flight uniform, his air medals, etc.  It’s such a special box on my mother’s wall that all his descendants would love to inherit it. 

Do you have some family heirlooms stored in a box out of sight or on a shelf somewhere gathering dust?  Does your family know the background about that heirloom, who it belonged to, etc.?

Why not turn that heirloom into a treasured family history gift in a shadow box? 

Shadow boxes have a space between the glass and the back of the frame.  Some are deeper than others, so you have options as to what you can put in them. 

My neighbor, Daryl Bohnstedt, put together things that belonged to her great-grandmother.  The photo at the right shows how she included a button hook, embroidery scissors, spectacles, a teaspoon, etc. 

Shadow boxes are so easy to do! 

Here’s how you can put together a shadow box:

• Gather objects and photos you have on hand.
• Try to group some that create a theme.  For instance, the photo at the right is a wedding dress with a photo of the bridal couple.
• Decide what size shadow box you’ll need for that theme.  You’ll need both the frame size, but also the depth of the objects.
• Head to your favorite craft or framing store and purchase the size box you’ll need. (You can find them online but time is running out to have one by Christmas). 
• Line the box with some fabric or wallpaper.
• Arrange the items in the box.
• Use pins to attach or anchor the objects.
• Write a little history that you either display in the box or attach to the back of the box.

Here’s some online sites for shadow boxes:

• For a veteran check out these Freedom Display Cases.  They are beautiful!
• Display Gifts.com has cases for collections: baseball, figurines, teaspoons, etc. 

Want to make your own box?  Here’s a link with instructions posted at EHow.com.

That was the easy part.  The hard part will be deciding who you’ll give it to! 

What things could you put in a shadow box? 

Related posts:  Family History Gifts:  Something For Everyone!