DIY Treasure Box Frame for Mothers Day
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DIY by IN THE TREEHOUSE,
In the Treehouse Blog on Saturday, March 24th, 2012
Feels so good to be blogging today – it’s been a while (something to do with a rather incredible week of sun, sea and relaxation in the Cape Verde Islands - more on that soon!). Anyway, I’ll now be making up for lost time with some exciting features coming up over the next few weeks – including the exquisite wedding photos of Matt (our very own Treehouse Keeper) & Leanne. I can’t wait for him to share them with you via his new blog feature ‘In the He House’.
I am incredibly gutted to have missed out on sharing some ideas for Mothers Day with you (again, blaming my week in the sun & crazy pre-holiday schedule for this!). Still, I will have double the features for next year I suppose. Even though I know the day has passed, I didn’t want it to go unmentioned on the blog – now where on Earth would we be without mums? I don’t know where to start! -
So although it’s a little bit late – to all the brilliant mums out there:

Isn’t it usually our mums who are supposed to dig out the old photo albums and show embarrassing photos to anyone who’ll feign interest? Today there’s a role reversal!
In many ways, my mum has been my biggest inspiration in life – and anyone who is lucky to know her will agree that she’s an incredible person – talented, creative, strong, beautiful (inside & out), kind & so supportive. I literally… don’t think In the Treehouse would have survived its first year if it wasn’t for her – In fact, of the 6,000 odd monthly visitors to our blog, I’m pretty sure a high percentage of ‘you’ is in fact, my lovely mum checking it over and over again. (Goodness knows how the hits will increase when she eventually upgrades the ancient Nokia mobile to an iPhone!)
To celebrate the occasion, I made this ’Treasure Box Frame’ (as I have aptly named it) for my mum on Mothers Day.

The photo is of her own mum and dad, Mr. & Mrs. H. Foley on their wedding day in 1947. It’s the only photo of the day we have and was being safely kept in a drawer somewhere, although never on display. I scanned it in, printed it out & displayed it with some other significant & pretty things in this lovely box frame… The beautiful frame is from
The Range for £9.99 and has a lovely cushioned canvas inside so you can simply pin in your treasures. I included a piece of a vintage dress pattern, as my mum’s a fashion designer – this is also why I have added a bit of an old tape measure. There’s a pretty rose corsage, some scrabble tiles which I bought in bulk from ebay, a patterned tin heart, and some pretty ribbons, laces and
airmail paper behind. The frame around the photo is from a charity shop – I just removed the backing and glass and glued the empty frame in there.

If you fancy giving this a go, other things you could use are brooches, pearls, old stamps (ebay is good for these), letters, pretty fabric, favourite recipes or song words – the list is endless, but really – anything that feels personal to you/the recipient. The great thing about this particular frame is that the front opens and then closes magnetically, so you can continue to add special things to it long after…

Following on from the DIY treasure box frame, I thought I’d show you the photo in clearer detail – Mr & Mrs Harold & Monica Foley, my Granny and Grandad on their wedding day in 1947. What a truly handsome couple they made. During this time of austerity shortly after WW2, it wasn’t uncommon for a Bride to wear a smart suit such as this one as opposed to a white wedding dress. Although the original photo remains safely tucked away in a drawer for protection, I’m so glad there’s now also a version on display in the box frame to be admired & cherished.

If you are inspired to make one of these – good luck and
keep us posted…