Shadow Box Memories

Most memory boxes that I have seen on the internet are exactly that, boxes.  I wanted a box that I could see all of the items I have saved over the years to remind me of those memories.  What's the point of saving items if you are going to just throw it in a box and never look at it again? 

I purchased a shadow box from Michaels with a glass front and figured it would be a great way to see my memories every time I walk past it. When we all were forced to work and be home, I took time every day cleaning different places around the house.  I found a box of tickets and stubs that I was going to scrapbook, but never did and was excited to place them in my living room for all to see.  

I have years and years worth of items that I have saved.  Each ticket puts a smile on my face and warms my heart.  Just looking at each one takes me back to that time in our family history.  

I used my handy dandy Cricut to cut some vinyl to place on the glass of the shadow box, with the saying, Oh the places we've been...the things we've seen...

I placed the items in the box in no particular order, but trying to put the smaller items in the front and larger in the back.  Every single ticket, or stub, may not be seen, but at least  they aren't sitting in a closet where they are forgotten about.  Now every time I walk into my living room I get to be reminded of all of the fun things we have done over the years, and even spark conversations with the kids and friends that come over and see the box.  The great thing about these shadowboxes is that they come in all different sizes and they are a great width to places several items in.  Boxes don't have to just be stubs and tickets; shirts, shot glasses, anything you pick up while on your travels could possibly be put in.  I hope that you enjoy this item and try it out as well. Happy Memories!

Vintage cart makeover

I am a sucker for old furniture and vintage pieces.  I love going to an antique mall or flea market and finding an amazing piece that can be used for something other than it's intended purpose.  Most of the time I have to have something in mind before I am going to just go out and buy an old piece.  Before Covid struck, my husband and I had been talking about purchasing a cart to store liquor on.  We looked and looked, but nothing really tickled our fancy, plus we wanted something that would look great in our kitchen with our vintage table.  

We were so excited when North Carolina began letting small businesses open.  After watching Facebook for weeks, the antique mall that we wanted to check out was finally open.  To limit our exposure to others, we went right when they opened and wore our masks.  This particular antique mall is huge! It takes hours to get through and has just about everything an antique lover would want.  After spending an hour searching for a piece that would work, we found it, tucked under a bunch of knick knacks.  We looked around a little longer, but went back for the cart that would become our liquor cart.  

We got it home, looked it over, and began the stripping process.  I honestly don't understand why people paint beautiful pieces instead of just cleaning them up to their original glory.  As they say though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.  I always get really excited when I begin these projects.  I can see what I want even through all of the layers of paint.  Here is the cart at the beginning of it's transformation.

Pretty ugly isn't it?  After hours and hours of using paint stripper, the red paint still wasn't coming up.  We had to break out the grinder to get off the stubborn red paint that did not want to be stripped off.  We used chrome polish and a lot of elbow grease.  After about three days of working on this red painted, vintage cart, the finished product in my opinion is beautiful!  It looks amazing in our kitchen, and does a great job accenting my grandma's table.  I may not always like doing the work, but I always love the end product.