PinsterSisters: Travel Keepsake Shadow Box

You may remember that last summer I went to visit our younger sister Kelsey while she was studying abroad in Australia. I decided that I wanted to do something fun with the tickets and mementos that gathered during the trip- so I threw them in a shadow box!

I got the idea from something I pinned months & months ago from designaglow.com.

Designaglow

I had been on the hunt for a rather inexpensive white shadow box for quite some time. I found some black ones at HomeGoods and in AC Moore. But black doesn't really go with the new scheme of my bedroom. So I ended up buying an unfinished shadow box at ACMoore.

I can’t remember the price anymore, but I think it was around $12. While I was at ACMoore, I also picked up some white paint and letter stickers from their scrap book aisle.

It took about 4 light coats of paint to cover the shadow box. While the box was drying, I used the left over fabric (ie shower curtain) from my book case redo to cover the back of the frame. Then, using the sticker letters I spelled out AUSTRALIA on the back. I stuck some of the mementos to the back, using my spray adhesive. I threw all my other leftovers (coins, tickets, etc) inside as well.

I actually bought two boxes because I plan on going to London in Spring of 2014. So I painted it and covered the back of it for now. Even though it’s empty, I hung it up anyway just because I think the one shadow box would look funny by itself. I may end up filling it with mementos from Duck, NC where I'm heading this summer with the entire family.

As an aside, I’ll tell you briefly about the trip itself. I spent all my 10 days in the Southeast region of the country. We started the trip in Sydney where we got to climb the Sydney Bridge. We also visited Bondi Beach, checked out the aquarium, zoo, and National Maritime Museum.

Myself & Kelsey in front of the Sydney Bridge

Lunch by the Opera House- this is after we climbed the bridge on a super windy day so my hair is a mess!

After Sydney, we spent some time around Geelong (where Kelsey was attending school). We drove the Great Ocean Road, visited Philip Island (i.e. Penguin Island), and went zip-lining in Otway.

Great Ocean Road

Philip Island

Koala Conservation Centre

Zip-lining

We ended our trip by spending a few days in Melbourne where we did some sightseeing, caught a footie ball game, went to the Old Melbourne Gaol, and did some shopping at Queen Victoria’s market.