Layout of the Week - Graduation Shadow Box

My niece Emily graduated from High School last weekend. Although it makes me feel old, I couldn't be more proud of her. When I started considering what type of gift I wanted to give her, I thought it should be something full of memories. I wanted to make her something unique, that would remind her of this special time.

I love shadow boxes, so I decided to create one for Emily. I started out with a plan. I knew I wanted to use her school colors and that I wanted to use a 12" x12" size frame. I chose 12" x 12", so that she could take the paper out of the frame someday and put it in a photo album.

I hoped to find a white shadow box, but could only find a black one. I decided to paint it white, and Dave was nice enough to sand it for me. Then I used some leftover white primer and semi gloss paint from Home Depot. It's so nice when things you've been saving forever finally come in handy! After one coat of primer and two coats of paint, I coated the frame with clear Glitter Glaze from Li'l Davis Designs. All girls just need a little more glitter in their lives! :)

For the inside of the box, I wanted to use Emily's school colors, so I checked with her mom and found out the colors are royal blue and white. I chose a shimmery foiled paper, Hat Toss from the Graduation Collection by Reminsce, for my background. I used the Cricut die cut machine to cut my letters and tags and their shadows out of white Bazzill Bling and royal blue metallic papers. To adhere the letters and tags, I used my Xyron Create a Sticker 250.

I used two double mats, one vertical and one horizontal. It will be easy for Emily to choose two 4” x 6” photos to place on each mat.

I placed a mix of pearls, rhinestones and ribbons on the background to give my creation a little flair. I’ll make a list of supplies at the end of this post.

When I was making the tags with Emily’s name, I made a few trying to get it just right. Since there were extras, I used them on the gift and card. It will be fun for Emily to use these on her dorm room bulletin board.

So if you’re looking for the perfect graduation gift, give a shadow box a try! It’s an easy way to create something your loved one will cherish.

Supply List
12” x 12” MCS Scrapbook Shadow Box Frame
Li’l Davis Designs clear Glitter Glaze
Reminisce Graduation Collection, Hat Toss Foil Paper
Metallic Paper – Royal Blue Paper
Bazzill Bling – White Paper
KaiserCraft White Pearls & Royal Rhinestones
Misc. Ribbons in Royal & White
Royal Felt Flowers
Royal Glitter Brads