When we think about our parents, especially those of us who no longer have one or both of them, there are always certain things we will forever associate with them. A lot of those are material things, simple keepsakes or perhaps heirlooms. They are things we can look at that instantly conjure an image of them or give us  that feeling that  they’re here with us despite the fact they are not. Maybe it’s a piece of furniture,  or something they used in the kitchen or out in the shop. Sometimes it is something very simple, yet permanently tied to our memory of them and therefore cherished.

My mom’s stationary box was just one of those things. As far back as I can remember I have been fascinated with intricate geometric design, and for the most part the more complex and symmetrical the design the more I like it. I love beautiful handmade rugs and tapestries and fabrics with these designs. Pool trim tiles always catch my eye and I am amazed whenever I get a chance to see a quilt show. So, her stationary box naturally attracted my eye. It was just a nicely made cardboard box, nothing particularly fancy but well done, embossed printing with an intricate repeating design on gold foil paper. And it was around for as long as I can remember. Once depleted of the stationary it came with, it was the keeper of paper scraps that I cannot describe other than an assortment of odds and ends that still had some useful purpose. But, it was always around. Never discarded. And for forty some years it sat there where my mom held highest office at household command central. Then I came along with a renewed and now sentimental interest in it.

At first I thought I would just use it to make some type of graphic as a background for my website, but that didn’t really work out. I scanned it and manipulated it every way I could but it just didn’t pan out as I had intended. So, the box just sat on the shelf in my office where I would occasionally pick it up and admire it but was never quite sure what to do with it.

About a month ago I had the annual clean out the office day where all the junk I accumulate is usually discarded. I’m not a hoarder…for long. When I came to the stationary box I once again wondered what I could possibly do with it. I just didn’t want to put it in a box or a closet where it would never be looked at again. I wanted to USE it in some meaningful way where I could remember my mom and admire its familiar design. I put it aside and came to a box of frames that I had laying around and that is when it came to me! I would make the box into a photo mat and in it I would put a photo of me and my mom that I had always loved. It was the one with my dad’s ’41 Chevy pickup in the background. We were out in the back yard in a baby pool and he was home for lunch and snapping a few pics of his new kid. Perfect.

So, this is what happened to my mom’s stationary box. Despite being on the creative side, I’m not a very crafty person so I was rather pleased with myself. It was a the prefect project ending for a simple piece of family memorabilia and the photo that makes it even more special.

Here’s a few shots, the first one showing the scanned box lid, with all its worn edges from nearly a half century of use.

And the finished piece.  I chose a simple black frame and a white undermatting to set the box top mat apart from the photo. I was very careful to preserve the symmetry of the design as best I could, cutting the opening so that it was centered in the design repeat. I love it!

I had a few scraps of material left over that I couldn’t part with so I fashioned a little box that holds all my CF cards waiting to be downloaded. Ok. Maybe I AM a little crafty :o)