DIY: 50th Anniversary Shadow Box

My husband’s grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last summer and when we were planning our wedding, I heard that they didn’t have a copy of their wedding certificate. Now, honestly, I have no clue where ours is and it’s only been a little over four years, but I was able to hunt theirs down at the local courthouse. For theirs, I created a nice shadow box to put it on display which also doubled as an anniversary gift. Really, I need to this for my own when I hunt it down. This gift can easily be created for a wedding, anniversary or really any other occasion and could easily be used for a birth certificate, diploma or any other piece of paper you wish to display.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A 12×12 shadowbox (This may need to be bigger depending on the size of your certificate)
• 12 x 12 scrapbook paper (Preferably two contrasting shades or patterns)
• Decorative straight pins (Six came with the shadowbox)
• Plain straight pins
• Double sided tape
• The certificate you wish to display
• Other decorative items you wish to include (I used a photo and a little sign I created with Photoshop)

Start off by hunting down the certificate you wish to display. Birth and marriage records can be obtained from the local courthouse. Finding the marriage certificate I used was actually fairly easy. I had both of the names (important) and took them to the courthouse of the county that I knew there were married in. The clerk easily looked it up and helped my find the right one among the gazillions of paperwork they had on file. They made a photocopy and I was on my way.

Next, I picked up my shadowbox (I found mine at Target) and bought my scrapbook paper. I chose a gold patterned piece, since the 50th anniversary is typically the golden anniversary, and a piece of gold glitter paper.

Once home, I created a little sign using Photoshop and printed a photo that I had on file. I don’t love the picture, but it was the most recent one I had. I then used plain straight pins and affixed the patterned piece of paper into the back of the shadowbox, using one pin in each of the four corners.

I then trimmed my glittery paper using the sizes of my certificate, sign and photo as a guideline. I made the glittery paper slightly larger (about an inch and a half on each side) than each of the items to allow the glittery to create a contrast between the item and the background. Using my double sided tape, I affixed each item to its corresponding glittery paper.

Using the decorative pins, I pinned each item into the box, starting with the certificate at the top and then the photo and sign under it.

After adding back the piece of glass (this shadowbox worked like a photo frame and not like some that I’ve seen that open on hinges) I wrapped it in tissue paper, put it in a bag and was on my way.

So there you have it. A nice, personalized gift that someone is sure to love for their anniversary, birthday, graduation or more.