I use so many vintage photos in my altered art projects. I just love the way they look. So when my mom came for a recent visit, I asked her to bring as many old family photos as she could so that I could start using actual family photos, rather than just vintage strangers that catch my eye in photographs. Mom brought some wonderful photos, so I’m off to a good start in building a collection that will not only help me to be creative, but will be extremely meaningful for me as well.
For my very first effort, I decided to create a shadow box of sorts. I have several of these small square boxes around, made from old lath board. They measure about 6″ square on the outside, about a little over 5″ on this inside. To me, these rustic boxes were just begging to be altered and transformed into meaningful family art. And this one features my great Grandma and Grandpa Kephart. Definitely art with heart.
Click to Enlarge
I started by finding some decorative scrapbook paper that I wanted to use on the background. I found one a with rose, pink and blue-green colored pattern to it that I really love. So I cut that to size and put it in place in the box. I already knew that I’d be using the photo of my great Grandma and Grandpa, so next I went about looking for the right embellishments. I found a decorative paper element that says Family on it in a Tim Holz paper pack, so I cut that out to use. I also found a great paper rose that has a hint of glitter on, and the color matched the background paper perfectly. I found some old lace that I ran some thread through to create a fan effect under the rose, and I grabbed some old buttons as well, since the paper element has buttons on it, so I thought they would be a nice touch.
I used foam core to help me create depth with the items I placed in the shadow box. I used it behind the vintage photo and the paper element. The different depths of the items is a perfect way to create shadows in the box, and it makes it look more interesting too. I used some foam to raise up one of the buttons as well.
I love this piece, mostly because it has personal meaning for me. Now all I really need to do is find the perfect spot in my home to hang it. And I will definitely be making more of these shadow boxes too!
