A Two Hour Investment for a Lifetime of Sweet Memories (Poetic, right?)

I am by nature, a very sentimental person; not with everything though, just in regards to things that really matter.  As a result, I still have every single wedding card Chris and I received (two years ago).  I stashed each one away in a box, along with the leftover programs, save the dates and wedding invitations. I also have a few 'Amy and Chris, November 6, 2010' cocktail napkins and some match books.

So...what can you possibly do with dozens and dozens of wedding cards?

Collage them!

Now, before I go any further let me say this: I did NOT get this idea from Pinterest. This one is all mine!

I started with a large frame from Michael's. You could use any size. We chose an 18"X24" poster frame. The next step was actually the hard part; I pulled out ALL the wedding cards and one by one, decided which ones would fit into the frame. Honestly, I would have included every single one if I could have. Unfortunately, however, this was intended to be a framed collage, not an entire wall mural. The rest of the (unused) cards are still being saved in the original wedding paraphernalia box.

Once the cards were arranged to my liking, I began placing them carefully on the board. I just used the blank side of the poster insert (the paper that comes inside the frame), but you could do it any way you'd like. I also added black and white scrapbook paper into the blank spots of the frame, covering the cardboard of the backing. I secured the pictures with Scotch brand adhesive pads (the little squares with the double backing), and scotch tape. I centered all the cards around a photos, program from our wedding ceremony, an invite and RSVP card, a cocktail napkin, and a newspaper from our wedding day (I used photos and paper to cover some of the front page headlines from that day...economic recession=major wedding collage buzz kill).

I completed the collage by printing out copies of the lyrics to our first dance and cutting the lyrics into random strips. I arranged the strips throughout the collage to give the frame the finishing touch.

Once the collage was framed, I used a metallic silver paint pen to draw small hearts on the glass of the frame, making the collage look more three-dimensional.

< Cards and wedding "stuff" in frame. I have been planning this project for about a year now. Looking through all of these cards evoked so many great memories. Nothing could possibly make you feel more loved than to re-read 100+ cards from those you hold dearest, each offering blessings and words of wisdom.

Funny...only took me about two hours. Procrastination at its finest, people.

And here's a close-up:

Now I just have to figure out where to hang this thing...