Maybe we should rename our site Young Shadowbox Love — we’re clearly into them. I’ve filled shadowboxes with everything from calendars marked with special dates…
…to keys from our past homes…
…and even wedding keepsakes.
I think it comes down to preferring to display objects that spark happy memories instead of tucking them away in a closet where they rarely see the light of day. From the moment we started writing our book more than three years ago, I collected small mementos to commemorate the unpredictable, thrilling ride of creating it. One of my favorite collections were the pencils we used to mark up the manuscript and the large layouts we shipped back and forth with our publisher.
The pencils began long and pristine, but over the course of editing 336 pages they wore down. We used different colors for different rounds — spellchecker marks, our editor’s notes, and our own revisions — until the pages returned as a little rainbow of edits only the typesetter could decipher. Because the book’s outline dates back more than a year, and revisions continued for months after that, we amassed a collection of stubs, many reduced to half their original length from margin notes and rewrites.
I briefly considered framing the pencils alone, but decided it would be more meaningful to include a handful of other keepsakes from the process. Into the shadowbox went textured wallpaper, a fabric swatch, a random postcard, and a small personalized rock that reminds us of Burger — little details from secret book projects that each hold a memory.
I already had a 6 x 6″ shadowbox from Ikea (they’re inexpensive), so I cut the textured wallpaper to fit the frame and used super glue to secure the pencils, rock, and fabric swatch in place.
After letting everything dry thoroughly — you don’t want anything coming loose once it’s hung — I set the contents into the frame the next day…
…and gave it a small place of honor in the hall bathroom. I considered adding it to our hallway gallery, but that felt like burying it. The bathroom offers a dedicated spot where we can pause and look at it — it’s where Clara takes baths and practices on the potty, so we end up spending a lot of time there lately. We’re not worried about steam damaging it since Clara’s baths aren’t hot and we don’t shower in that room.
That bike dish towel is one of my favorites — it was a gift for John and doubles nicely as a hand towel on the way out.
What have you been framing lately? Who else saves worn pencils, fabric swatches, and other tiny keepsakes? I’d love to hear what you’re preserving and displaying.