Shadow Box Banks

If there's one thing the Girls Team LOVES it's a vacation. Unfortunately vacations aren't cheap. This week we created a fun way to save for trips we hope to take soon. We saw piggy banks made from shadow box frames on Pinterest and figured they'd be a great project to try, and a helpful reminder to save our change!

All you'll need for this project is a shadow box, a printer and photo paper (and some power tools but we'll get to that later). I made a quick trip to Michael's and bought two black 5 x 7 shadow box frames. Luckily I stumbled upon buy one get one free week on all frames so the total cost for this project was $11!

My mom and I printed our images onto photo paper. She chose the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite to represent a stay at an iconic lodge at a National Park of her choice, and I chose a tropical beach photo because I'm saving for a tropical vacation. (Any location, I'm not picky!)

Here's our step-by-step tutorial on how to put together your own shadow box frame bank:

Size your background picture to fit your frame,

then print onto glossy photo paper.

 

Mark the spot on the frame where you want to cut the slot for your money.

 

Ask your very handy dad for help with the power tools.

Thanks dad! :)

 

Up close and personal view of the money slot,

which will fit both coins and dollar bills.

 

Use a paper cutter to cut your picture to size.
In our case, 5 by 7 inches.

 

The shadow box frame should come with a piece of velcro to help attach items. Stick the velcro onto the back of the photo, then attach it to the fabric covered frame backing. Once your photo is attached to the frame backing, secure it to the frame like you would any other photo.

 

Here are our finished shadow box frames. Aren't they awesome?!

First dollar in the bank...vacations here we come!

 

The Girls Team loves our shadow box banks! Not only was this an affordable project, it was also quick and easy. While we worked on the photos, my dad cut the money slots so we were able to complete this project in about 30 minutes. The black frames are simple so they don't stand out against the decor in our homes like DIY projects often do. Unlike many craft ideas on Pinterest, these banks actually look better than the sample ones we saw online. 

 

Plus, this is a project that has some longevity. Since the money slot is already cut, once we take these vacations, we can easily change the photo image to start saving for something else...like another vacation. ;-) When we're ready to take the money out we won't need to break the bank. We'll simply remove the back of the frame, empty it, and refill.

 

We decided that the banks are probably best used for saving coins; adding a few $1 dollar bills quickly covered up the photo. And while covering the photo completely means we're on our way to a great vacation, we want to savor the motivational photos for a while because they are both very pretty!

 

Another successful DIY project from the Girls Team, with help from our resident power tools professional! :)