Your wedding is over, and you’ve been spending countless hours writing thank you notes to all your guests. You’re so tired of writing that all your letters are starting to sound the same. “Dear So-and-so, Thank you for helping us celebrate our special day, it really meant so much to us. Thank you for ____ (insert gift here), I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. Sincerely, Your Name.” Sound familiar?


You get down the list to your bridesmaids, maid of honor, and mother. It just doesn’t feel right to send the same thank you to them that you did to your third cousin from Cleveland that you see once every five years. This is where a memorable shadow box keepsake, with a photo and dried flowers from your wedding day, is a great thank you idea.

It’s a great way to share your photos, that you were already planning to send, and to show how much these guests meant to you in a truly creative way. Here’s how to do just that via DIY Bride.

DIY Shadow Box Thank You

What you’ll need:
-Shadow Box Frame: Available at your local craft store
-Wedding Photo
-Dried Corsage or Flowers
-Card Stock
-A Poem/Thank You tribute/Favorite Verse
-Pop Dots: Little disks placed behind any 2-D item to make it 3-D.These are also available in the scrap booking department
-Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
-Scissors


How To Make It:


1. Take the card stock that you’ve chosen as your background color and cut a piece the same size as the inside back of the shadow box. This will be the base.

2. Cut the photo into any size or shape that will fit into the shadow box frame. I made a smaller copy of the original and cut it into an oval. To give the photograph a finished framed appearance, I cut two more ovals each one ¼” larger than the other. I cut a white oval ¼” larger than the photo, then cut one more out of my black pin dot cardstock which was1/4” larger than the white one. You can make two or three ovals if you wish. Center your photo onto the first white oval and glue it down. Take this oval and photo and center it onto the second larger oval and glue it down. Now you have a sturdy, pretty “framed” photograph.

3. Now for the poem. Center the poem on a slightly smaller oval than the photo one. I used just one other oval to “frame” the poem and cut it out of the black pin dot paper making it 1/8” larger all the way around. Center the poem on the larger oval and glue it down.

4. Punch out two Pop Dots from the card. Remove the backing from all sides of each dot and stick them together. Stick the double dots onto the center back of the “framed” photo. Do the same to the framed poem, but use THREE dots so that the poem will stand out and over the photo when placed on the background.


5. Arrange all three elements: corsage, photo and poem around on the inside back of the frame (which you have already covered with the background colored paper and glued down). Move all three around until you find a pleasing arrangement

6. Place the glass and frame over it all to make sure they all fit in nicely. If they do…. hot glue the corsage in place and put the frame back together.


And, voila! A much more meaningful thank you for your honored guests.