How to Make a Shadow Box for a Baby's Baptismal Gown

Assemble your materials for this project from your local home improvement supply store. Ask the clerk to cut your wood trim to size and to route a notch along both edges of each piece of trim. This will hold your glass and your backboard in place. The notch for the backboard should be thinner than the notch for the glass. Explain your project to the clerk and he will adjust the notch sizes as needed. If you have a router at home, notch the trim to match the width of your backboard and your glass.

Lightly sand the wood trim to remove any roughness. Stain the trim with a stain that is a blend of color and polyurethane. This will eliminate the secondary step of a protective polyurethane coat. You may need more than one coat of stain to achieve the look you desire. Let the stain dry completely.

Spray the backboard with adhesive felt, cover it, and smooth out any wrinkles. Spray adhesive is flexible during the first few minutes, so you can move the felt as needed to place it correctly.

Attach one piece of 25-inch trim to one piece of 37-inch trim where they meet at the corner with wood adhesive. Make sure that the routed notches for the glass and backboard match. Place a screw through the inch trim into the 37-inch trim. Attach the other 37-inch trim to the other side of the 25-inch trim. You will now have three sides of your frame assembled.

Lay the frame face down and run a thin bead of adhesive along the notch for the glass around the perimeter of the frame. Insert the glass. Allow the adhesive to dry.

Attach your baptismal gown to the felt with pins. Insert the backboard into the frame. Attach the last piece of 25-inch trim with adhesive and screws. Let the glue dry.

Attach the picture hangers and display the baptismal gown in its shadow box.