Memories of Grandma

After my grandmother passed I made memory boxes like this for family and friends who were closest to her. I put in pictures of the favorite places she had been in her life and put in bits of "her life" along with the photos. She used to do stitched canvas so I put pieces of that in the box, along with pieces of her jewelry. She also used to make beaded Christmas ornaments - angels, candy canes, wreaths. I put those in there too. I have this sitting on a shelf in my living room where I see it frequently. It's a nice reminder of her.

Grandma was always doing some kind of craft project for as long as I knew her. My mom is very creative too. I remember her teaching us to make Christmas trees out of Reader's Digest magazines for table decorations. One year we made ice candles in milk cartons (fill milk cartons with ice cubes then pour melted wax in. The ice melts and makes a Swiss cheese effect to the candle after you peel away the milk carton). So I guess I come by my creativity naturally.

I offer this as an alternative way of displaying photos - other than just putting them on a frame on a wall. Also, most of the photos are not stuck to the back of the box, but are actually on "stand offs" so that the composition has some depth and dimension to it. I think I actually scanned the original photos, I didn't cut them up for this project. All of the boxes had the same photos in the same locations - the "other bits" were pieces of projects in progress and other personal items that had belonged to her.

I hope maybe this inspires you to make memory boxes of your own to give as gifts to those still living or to commemorate those who have passed on.