Sweet Shoppe Designs – The Sweetest Digital Scrapbooking Site on the Web

Welcome to the April 2025 installment of Think Outside the Album, where we look at different ways to take our digital supplies off the scrapbook page and instead, use them to make the rest of our world just a little bit sweeter.

This month’s project definitely falls under the category of “bittersweet”: it’s a shadow box display in memory of a beloved pet.

Created using Rainbow Bridge by LJS Designs

It’s been six years since my Jack-Jack crossed the Rainbow Bridge. When we came home from the animal hospital with his collar and the sweater I made for him that he wore constantly during the last six months of his life, I tucked them into a zip-lock bag and placed it in a drawer. I wasn’t yet ready to do anything with them, but I knew eventually I wanted to do something special.

It took me six years, but I was finally ready.

I decided on a shadow box as the ideal way to create and display a little collection about our beloved dog. In addition to his sweater and collar with tags, I saved his favorite toy – a tiny duck – and gathered it all together. A quick run of my measuring tape, and I decided that an 11″ x 14″ shadow box frame would be the perfect size.

A shadow box frame is essentially a picture frame that’s deep enough to provide space to display items that aren’t flat. They come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses. The one I bought is about 2″ deep. You’ll find them in the frame department of your local craft or hobby shop.

Then I sat down with my preferred digiscrap design software and pulled out the Rainbow Bridge Bundle by LJS Designs. It’s a large collection that includes paper, alphas, decorative elements, word art, and journaling cards, all centered around the idea of memorializing a beloved pet.

Here are some ideas for things to add to a shadow memory box:

A photograph of the person or pet.

I found a shot of our sweet Jack-Jack wearing the sweater I made for him; I combined it with a frame from the Rainbow Bridge kit and gave it a deep drop shadow to add some dimension. I had this photograph printed and mounted on frame board to make it sturdy and easy to display.

Created using Rainbow Bridge by LJS Designs

A header including their name and dates of birth and death.

I used paper from the kit, recolored to match his sweater, and combined it with an alphabet from the kit for his name. Then I used a font to add the month and year of his birth and death, and used decorative elements to finish it off. This, too, I had printed by a photo printer and mounted on matboard to give it rigidity. If you prefer to print at home, you could easily adhere your photo paper to a thick piece of foam core using double-stick adhesive.

Created using Rainbow Bridge by LJS Designs

A pre-made journaling card with a meaningful quotation.

I had my husband help choose which card he wanted, and we went with “Your wings were ready but my heart was not.” I did some Photoshop magic to add a texture to the card that matched his sweater and used layer styles to help the text and decorative elements stand out.

Created using Rainbow Bridge by LJS Designs

Once everything came back from the printer, it was time to assemble it. Most shadow boxes have a felted background so you can use pins to tack items in place. When you’re done, carefully put the backing in the frame and lock it in place.

I had a tough time getting a good, clear shot of the finished shadow box because of the reflections on the glass, but you’ll definitely get the idea:

It’s like a tiny museum display, complete with identifying text, a favorite photograph, and artefacts from Jack-Jack’s life. It’s a sad project to undertake, and I’m grateful I waited until my heart was ready to tackle it, but now every time I see it, I smile and remember my sweet boy.

I hope this month’s blog post has helped expand your thinking about how you can use your digiscrap supplies beyond the typical scrapbook page. Whether you’re creating a display for a beloved pet, like I did, or for a family member or friend you’d like to memorialize, I hope the process of gathering items, creating small pieces of art, and assembling it in your shadow box will be both cathartic and healing. After all, as the saying goes, “Grief never ends but it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, but the price we pay for love.”

And when you’re ready, be sure to snap a photo or two of your Memory Shadow Box and share them with us in the Hybrid Project Gallery … because, as always, I can’t wait to see what you create when you Think Outside the Album.