Last weekend a couple of my friends got married, and for part of their wedding gift I made them a simple, elegant shadow box featuring their invitation. (Apologies in advance for the grainy pictures, but I hope you can get the idea!)

I got really lucky because when I made the trip to get supplies for the project, I forgot to bring along the invitation to match the colors and still managed to find nice paper and flowers that coordinated well with the invite. If you’d like to create a similar, memorable project for a wedding gift (or even a baby welcome gift! The possibilities are endless…!), you could try the following steps:

1. Take your invitation with you to a craft store, and buy a few sheets of acid-free scrapbook paper that compliment either the colors in the invitation, or that match the couple’s wedding colors. Do the same with some pretty artificial flowers, keeping size in mind. I also usually buy a special accessory to place in one of the corners. For the shadow box pictured in this post, I chose a brass bird (the bird’s original purpose was to go on a necklace, so I took off the two little hoops with jewelry pliers). In the past I’ve used little wedding bells that just got hot glued to the bottom of the box, and I’ve also considered painting a wooden cutout of the word “love,” in the wedding colors or doing a little square wood burning. You can see how the possibilities are endless!

2. Take all of your supplies and sit down with scissors or a paper cutter, and a good glue stick and hot glue gun. Start out by layering your scrapbook paper in a way you think looks nice. I liked the way the colors I chose echoed those in the invitation, but didn’t overwhelm the invite.

3. Once you’ve gotten your invite and paper glued down, start playing around with how you want our flowers and other accessories to look. Begin gluing them onto the invite and scrapbook paper base, checking to ensure you are not making things overcrowded. I sometimes cut the flowers off of the stems so I can arrange them more freely, even to the point where I snip leaves off for better arranging purposes, too.

4. After you’re satisfied with your layout, check how it looks in the frame under the glass. You might find that you want to make a few more changes–perhaps the layout you’ve created doesn’t quite have the symmetry you’d like and you’ll have to add a few more final touches. If you don’t have any other additions to make, ensure the glass is clean before putting your pretty project in the shadow box for good.

5. You could consider putting a sticker or label on the back of the frame that says “To” and “From,” but otherwise, at this point all you have to do is ensure everything is securely glued down and prepare the gift for wrapping!

I really love this project because it’s easy, it’s beautiful, and the couple you’re giving it to will have something heartfelt and homemade that reminds them of their wedding day. I hope you enjoy it, too!