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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Waltzingmouse November Blog Waltz


Today is the Friends of Waltzingmouse November Blog Waltz.  You should make sure to check out all of the holiday cards and projects guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit.  Here's a link.
I have been wanting to make a shadowbox ever since I saw one made by Mona Pendleton back in September and again in November.  Here is a link to the projects that inspired me, here and here.
 I used a 7 Gypsies shadowbox as my base and a variety of papers I have had for some time.  The most fun and also time-consuming part of this was selecting the perfect pictures of my kids and husband from Christmas' past.  I chose pictures that weren't necessarily the best, but they all mean a little something special to me. 


 First up, Matt who is now 29.
I have a ton of pictures of my kids all holding up some kind of Christmas gift they just had to have.  The box next to Matt has a cute candy jar image from Waltzingmouse Stamps Candy Jar Christmas Fillers set.  It is very sparkly and glittery with a three layer popped up bow.
Next up is Andy, now 27.
I love the toothless grin on Andy's face as he posed with his new bike helmet, pretending that he will love to wear a helmet even though that was back in the day when the only kids who wore helmets were the ones with crazy moms like me.  In the box next to him I used an embossed ornament from WM stamps 2010 Vintage Ornaments and a couple of pinecones, one I collected from outside our little cabin in Montana.
Third, my baby, Carly who is now 20.

Carly hates this picture, but I LOVE it.  She is wearing snuggly pink pajamas, her hair is all over the place and she has that fake, "Say Cheese" smile on her face while she sits on her new Christmas bike.  She told me she can't believe I used to let her out of her bedroom looking like this.  Next to Carly is a Tim Holtz medallion and the scallop on the top of it is from WM stamps Candy Jar Christmas.
Last up, a picture of the entire group.  
I have about 15 of these pictures, starting back when my husband and I first married and the picture was of him chopping down the Christmas tree.  Over the years, the kids were added to the picture, but someone always had to hold up that saw that was used so often.  Next to that picture are some cute mittens stamped with WM Nordic Winter and embossed in white with flocked cuffs.  My favorite set from Waltzingmouse...so far!
Here are a few pictures of the other boxes:
I used WM Around Christmastime for the vintage Santa, Seasonal Remedies for the "Joy" tag and A Cottage Christmas for the cute little snowman popped up on the snowy hills with a PTI diecut deer feeding at it's feet.

This shadowbox is already hanging in our family room, I couldn't wait until closer to Christmas, but I have to say it was so much fun to put together, trying to come up with the perfect embellishment for each box to go along with the memory-filled photos.  Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me.  Now, here's that link to the Blog Waltz again.  I know you won't be disappointed.


35 comments:

Kary said...

Cathy, this is a beautiful shadow box!! Love the gorgeous decorative details and the beautiful photos of your family. Great job!!

Deborah Frings said...

Oh Cathy - this is just wonderful, a perfect way to share the memories of Christmas past! I love the picutres of the family and the decoration boxes too - just super. Great work.

I like Mona's inspiration boxes too - I will do one of these one day :)

Clare said...

WOW! I'm impressed! SO much detail! Just beautiful!

Cammie said...

Cathy, this is such a lovely way to share those treasured Christmas memories. You have decorated it beautifully!

Inkyfingers said...

Wow Cathy this is going to be an heirloom peice to pass down the family. Fabulous job.

Renee said...

I love those pinecones sitting there...and all the gorgeous elements...the ornaments...
the mittens are just too adorable!
You will treasure this...
and such a fabulous way to display Christmas memories!
It's fantastic Cathy!

Kelly S. said...

Oh WHY did I open this before work, Cathy?! I must come back to soak in each sweet detail later today. This project was made with so much love, it is almost making me cry!! I love the photos and each sweet little stamped image. I think my fave panels might be that awesome medallion and the sweet ornament with the pinecones...or maybe the Around Christmastime Santa? Or the snowman with the little patterned tree meadow? SO hard to decide! This is a treasure for years to come, LOVE IT!

Mona Pendleton said...

Oh my goodness Cathy! What a beautiful painter's tray full of so much WM goodness and darling photos of your family! What a fabulous keepsake! Thanks for the big shout out :)

~ Ali Robertson ~ said...

Wow wow and wow this is very inspirational indeed. Love it

Ali x

Helen Berry said...

Woooow!!this is FANTASTIC! I love all the little compartments and the images you used to fill them. What a wonderful keepsake and gorgeous project! Very inspiring x

Sharron said...

Wow, what a wonderful treasure! Love how you combined your precious memories with lots of crafty goodness. The ornament with the pine cones, the snowman & deer scene, the gorgeous medallion--all are so pretty. FANTASTIC job!

LaurieJ said...

Oh my! What a fabulous way to display and keep treasured memories! It really is lovely.

Lynn Mercurio said...

This is a joy to behold, Cathy. Such a great combination of memories and images. Well done!

Julia Aston said...

what a wonderful way to preserve Christmas memories Cathy! your box designs look just wonderful!

Jeanne J. said...

WOW Cathy!!! You pulled out all the stops on this one - you can tell it's just filled with love! What a beautiful heirloom to bring out year after year! Your children are precious and all your details really shine! Just wonderful!!!!

Joyce said...

Wow, this is so amazing. How nice that you will have something to take out and enjoy every Christmas. You are not in any of the pictures, but I'm sure that you will remember this Christmas season, when you so lovingly made this treasure. Your future grandkids are going to study this box every year.

karen h said...

What a beautiful keepsake! I lve the little scenes you created in the non-picture boxes. And I will have to try flocking with Nordic (I have not thought to do that before!).

Super Jen said...

You've just reinforced my desire to make a shadow box. Now to find the time. Sigh...

Jacqueline Smith said...

Very beautiful creative memory that you made which last for ever.

Tara Cardwell said...

What a wonderful way to display memories - just delightful!

Tosha Leyendekker said...

What a fabulous shadow box filled with beautiful memories and paper designs!! LOVE the Nordic mittens, ornaments, and other sweet paper embellishments!! What a gorgeous project!!

BethieJ said...

BEAUTIFUL shadow box! I so want to make one.. and now seeing yours I want to make it NOW! :)
Have a GREAT day! Happy Waltzing! :)

Pauline said...

Wow, what a fantastic shadow box, such a lot of love and effort has gone into this! What a perfectly delightful piece of home decor to pull out in the years to come, fabulous!

Monica K. said...

This is wonderful, Cathy!! Love all of the special and meaningful details you added. It turned out so beautiful. Truly a keepsake!

Jen Cuthbertson said...

This is amazing, Cathy! I've been wanting to try one out ever since I saw Mona's, too, and you really brought the piece to life! What precious memories to revisit time and time again!! Love it!!

Bumblebee said...

A wonderful project, I'm sure your family will love reminiscing!

Erin (Homemade Cards by Erin) said...

Wow, what a fabulous project!!!

Meredith MacRitchie said...

Awesome! These boxes always intimidate me, but you did a great job!

snowbear said...

Such a cute shadow box!

Karin Åkesdotter said...

What??? This is absolutely AMAZING - What a fabulous project, I'm lost for words. Thanks for wonderful inspiration!

Kim Heggins said...

Cathy, this is just awesome! I love all of the little boxes with each having their own story! I'm making one for my daughter for Christmas, but with Twilight goodies from her trip to watch the filming of the movie Breaking Dawn.

rudlis said...

Wow, this is absolutely stunning.
Thanks for visiting my blog and your kind words.

Nancy Guse said...

This is wonderful! What a great keepsake, your pictures are perfect!

Pam said...

An absolute treasure. I love the mussy hair picture of Carly too. What joyful family memories are captured so beautifully. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Marybeth said...

love it! Cathy this is going to be such a keepsake for you and yor family . You did a wonderful job on all the details. I love that you put pictures that had special meaning to you. Time goes by so fast. When they were young didn't you think you had forever. Beautiful.