Create A Lasting Memory With A Shadow Box Display #GiftIdea

 Sometimes finding a perfect gift for that teen or young adult in your life is rather difficult. Preserving special memories is so important, and there are some great digital tools to do it these days! But sometimes a scrapbook or photo album isn't quite enough.  Maybe you know someone who has had an epic sports year or who has had an amazing dance or piano recital. What about a special year, like the year of graduation or the year your son or daughter learned to drive?

For those special moments or capsules in time, make up a special display of not only pictures, but uniforms, shirts, programs, hats, or anything else of significance to make up a special memory collage, capturing that special event.

For example, my son has always been interested in mixed martial arts and is self-taught! On his own he entered the world of MMA by joining a professional gym with a coach and team. He has trained for almost 8 years and is the proud holder of two belts in two separate weight classes. He is now ranked #1 in his weight class in the state and we are very proud of his accomplishment. We all went to see the fight where he won his 2nd belt. It was an amazing night.

We wanted to give him something that would help him remember that night, and also to help him remember the journey to that moment.

We did it with a shadow box display. It brought lots of things together into one fun and attractive case.. Here are some steps to consider when putting together a Shadow Box Display:

1) Collect all of the Memorabilia Collect everything surrounding the specific event or time into one place and choose what is the most important. We decided on an event shirt, an event ticket, the program, the event flyer, some pictures, and a poster. We got it all together and had it available for when we got the shadow box.

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2) Decide How Big You'd Like To Go You can get shadow boxes of all different sizes, from small to very large. We wanted our display to be big enough to include the most important parts of the night, yet not so large you couldn't transport it and so we went with a 28" x 24" size.

3) Make a Mock Set-up After selecting the things we thought would represent the event the best, we set it up against the backing the way we thought it should go. By doing this, we found that we needed to resize some of the items so that they would better fit our board, which we did.

4) Attach Items Permanently After deciding the arrangement, we needed to attach everything to the board. We attached the shirt with simple black straight pins which matched the shirt exactly. You can't see them unless you really look hard. We got double sided crafting tape to attach the pictures, poster, flyer, and ticket. In the final cut, there was a total of 9 items we included in the shadow box display.

After we put it all together, we presented it to our son on his birthday. He was so pleased. When I saw how happy he was, I knew we had done something awesome. I asked him if he liked it, and he said it was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for him. It made me kind of tear up! 

 If you decide to make a Memory Shadow Box, I guarantee it will be a gift that will be treasured for a lifetime!

Make Your Own Scented Body Cream - RainShadow Labs Review

Disclaimer:  I received one or more products to facilitate this review.  No other compensation was received!

 I love living in Utah where we get all 4 seasons.  Yesterday it was in the upper 80's and overnight a storm blew in, so today it is lightly raining. The leaves are changing rapidly.  But I love the lakes, mountains, verdant meadows, and forests.  In each of these places, if left in their pristine state, one can find substances and fragrances that are healing to the mind and body. 

RainShadow Labs has searched high and low in each of these places, throughout the world, to bring natural solutions to skin and hair that will leave you feeling as if you personally witnessed the gathering and formulation processes!  Everyone can benefit from RainShadow Labs.  They manufacture high-end natural beauty solutions at wholesale prices 
About the CEO co-owners – Vanessa Johannsen is the resident Alchemist, CEO and Chief Custom Designer with RainShadow Labs.  She is well qualified and really is the explanation why this company has such product integrity.  Vanessa spent 10 years in the natural botanical field, studying plant medicines intensively including a 5 –year apprenticeship with a Huichal elder and medicine man, 3 years with a Seminole Native American Medicine Man and Shamans from both Guatemala and Peru.  She has a bachelors and masters in Holistic Health, Herbalism and Aromatherapy.  The products are a result of her direct involvement and design.  Tim Johannsen is the business end of the company and has helped those who choose Rainshadow as their product supplier to think bigger, smarter and in a manner as to promote world conservation.  Together they are a formidable team and have been in business since 1983.

ARH Hyaluronic Acid Serum - The 32 oz. amber bottle comes without frill or labels.  But it is all business when it comes to the ingredients.  Rated as a whole food because of the 72% natural ingredient list, it packs a punch in the beauty category. 

"Botanical Hyaluronic Acid makes up five percent of this high quality formulation. Holding up to 1000 times its weight in water and drawing moisture out of the environment and onto the surface of your skin, there is not a more effective moisturizing agent on the world market today." It is Non-comedogenic, penetrates deeply, and activates collagen production for a fresher, younger, firmer, brighter complexion.

 This is a great product to use alone or mix with other products, such as a masque, lotion or cream.  I like to use it by itself, after I wash and before I moisturize.  It absorbs quickly so I don't have to wait more than a minute before putting on moisturizer.  I love how supple my skin is looking with regular use of this Serum. Other ingredients include organic aloe, witch hazel, jojoba oil, green tea, Geranium essential oil, and vitamins C and E. 

LBBC Smoothie Cream - This lotion is so lovely! It is 35% organic, unscented and the price is unbeatable.  A one-gallon bucket is $35.70! You can make over 60 2-oz jars of cream with that amount!
It absorbs into the skin quickly and makes it feel smooth and silky for hours.  Ingredients include shea butter, sweet almond oil, pumpkin seed oil, Macadamia Nut oil, wheat germ oil, avacado oil and Kukui Nut Oil, among others!  This lotion is perfect for making your own scented lotions.  I found some great Fragrance Oils that I mixed in with this lotion.  It makes for great gifts and so inexpensive!  A 2 oz. jar of scented lotion, including the container, averages about $1.50.