OCNJ 2012

We had a great time on vacation in OCNJ with the Deminski family+ on Aug 10-18.  Here's who went:
Mr. and Mrs. Deminski (my in-laws)
Sean and I
Ryne and Tammy (Sean's sister and brother-in-law)
Dan Slusser (our friend)
Daniel (Sean's brother)
Haley (Daniel's gf)
Nick (Sean's brother)
Mitch (Nick's friend) for the first half of the week
Sarah (Nick's friend) just for a night
Fred (Sean's cousin) for the last couple nights

We try to go every year and it's always relaxing and a great time with family and friends.  We watched some of the Olympics closing ceremony and a lot of Shark week.  We had great weather and only 1 day was not a good beach day.  Sean and I made chicken enchiladas when it was our night to cook (thanks for the recipe Laurie!).  The guys fished A LOT (I even tried and caught 4 fish! But I wouldn't touch them).  Our friends Rob and Allison were down the same week til Wed so we got to hang out with them some on the boardwalk, the beach and fishing on the dock of the bay across from the house they stayed at.
About half way through the week Sluss introduced me to the song "Call Me Maybe."  Honestly, I had never heard it and didn't even know it was a big summer hit.  I saw the Olympics swimmers version and Harvard guys version and thought we'd join the trend and make our own.  Here was the result:

Shadow Box Craft/Gift

I made my first shadow box as a wedding gift for a friend.  I thought it'd be fun to do something a little more personal in addition to the gift card I got them.  So, I saved their wedding invitation and looked for things at their wedding to add in.
Her wedding colors were black and white so I used a piece of patterned black scrap book paper for the background.  I grabbed a red rose from a bouquet (my plan was to get the groom's boutonniere but it got ruined and lost before I could).  They had Philly soft pretzels as favors so I used the wax paper from that and printed a photo from the wedding.  Then I got a little wooden S for their last name and painted it.  I played with the layout and glued it all down.
I think it's a great keepsake and would love to do it with my own wedding invitation eventually.

Shadow box with background in and items to go in.

Finished project.

What are some fun ways you have displayed your own wedding keepsakes in your home?