LWD Design Team Showcase: 7 Gypsies Shadow Box Tray

I have challenged myself to be more creative this year, especially with my Lone Wolf Designs Design Team projects. Last month, I had so much fun making an altered canvas and I wanted to try another type of home decor piece for this month. I absolutely love those large printer trays that you can alter. I was hesitant to try such a large one for my first time, so instead I chose a smaller tray. I am highlighting a 7 Gypsies Shadow Box Tray for this project. I used the white tray that measures 6"x6", but you can get them in black or wood finish and in several different sizes from 6"x6" all the way up to 10"x12". I think I might try one of the large ones for Christmas.

Here is the finished project. Thanks to my good friend and fellow DT member Tami for the fishing net and the raffia. Those two items definitely give this project the "beachy" feel that I was going for. Last fall, my husband and I took a weekend trip down to Charleston,SC. We took a little bit of time and walked along Folly Beach. I love to have my toes in the sand! This was my first trip to the ocean since I moved to SC in 2007 and I wanted to commemorate the occasion with a special photo display.

The color scheme may look familiar. It's the same paper that I used on my altered canvas for last month's Design Team Project. I used my Tim Holtz Paper Distresser to really distress the edges of all the photo mats (Core-dinations cardstock that I picked up on clearance for 10 cents each(!!) at JoAnn's). I inked all the edges with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink.

TIP: When you distress the edges, REALLY distress them. If you only distress a little bit, it looks like you need a new blade in your paper trimmer and that just makes your work look sloppy. DISTRESS those edges!!

The large space is a bit smaller than 4"x6" and the three squares on the bottom are a bit smaller than 2"x2". I trimmed the large photo mat to fit inside the spaces and then trimmed the other layers 1/4" smaller than the previous layer. I used ScorTape to adhere the photo mats to the inside of the tray.

I used Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive to attach the net and the rest of the embellishments to the tray.

I created a floral arrangement in the lower left corner using a Prima flower (Joulee-Tidepool), skeleton leaves, a stick pin from a recent swap (Thanks, Suzanne!), and a starfish charm. I also made a 4 loop bow with the raffia and secured it behind the flower.

In one corner, I used a large Idea-ology Corked Vial filled with seed beads. My original plan was to add sand to the bottle, but I didn't have any and I didn't want to buy a bag of it just to use a small amount for this project. I tried some brown/tan beads in the bottle (in lieu of sand) but it just didn't look right. I had these beads leftover from a stick pin project from last year and they were a perfect fit. A piece of knotted raffia around the neck of the bottle completes the look.

That "net" underneath my photo is actually a bath pouf that has been taken apart. Genius idea! I received the tag (Thanks again, Suzanne!) in a recent swap at The Scrap Cafe and knew that it was perfect for this project. I sure hope Suzanne doesn't mind that I deconstructed the tag!

To help balance out that tall bottle, on the other side of the frame I twisted a few long strands of raffia and glued it behind an Idea-ology Facet. I thought that crocheted button cover (Recollections) resembled a sand dollar, so I added it along with a few other sea shells.

The bottom of the tray has three sections. I put photos in the outside sections and an assortment of shells in the middle. I added the photo mats in each section. I know you can't really see the photo on the left, but it's a picture of a sign as you enter Folly Beach. For additional texture, I added small pieces of raffia in each section.

 A close-up of the sea shells in the middle section:

And here it is one more time:

Thank you so much for taking the time to look through all these pictures. Have you made one of these trays? Leave me a link in the comments. I would love to look at yours for inspiration for my next one!

You can find these and many more products for your crafting projects at 25% off MSRP at Lone Wolf Designs, LLC. All you have to do is join the Lone Wolf Designs Discount Retail Sales Facebook group. If you haven’t joined us yet, you’re paying TOO MUCH for your craft supplies!

Supply List (Available from Lone Wolf Designs, LLC)

• 7 Gypsies - Solo Shadowbox Tray - White 6x6 (7G12569)
• Tonic - Tim Holtz Paper Distresser (TO370)
• Ranger - Distress Pads by Tim Holtz - Evergreen Bough (THTIM32854)
• Scor-Tape 1/4in x 27 yards (SC202)
• Advantus - Tim Holtz Ideaology - Corked Vials (AVTH92899)
• Advantus - Tim Holtz - Ideaology - Advantus - Facets (AVTH92871)
• Prima - Joulee Tidepool (Item #567125)