How to Display Old Family Heirlooms in Your Home

Some of the things I love the most in our house are things that have been passed down to B and I from our families.  I love to display them and use them to decorate in our home.  I absolutely LOVE that they are not just something we bought at Homegoods (which there is nothing wrong with Homegoods, I'm a huge fan) and that they have a story behind them.

Recently we were given some leather working tools that were B's great-grandfather's, B's mom thought that I might be able to use them.  They were just so cool and you could tell they were used a lot and well loved that I decided instead of using them with my own leather projects, to display them in our home.

I got a shadow box from Michaels, I got this one here in the large size (don't forget your 40% off coupon!).  I didn't like the black background so I pulled out my big fabric box (ok, 2 big boxes, I'm somewhat of a fabric hoarder) and found a piece of tan linen.  I placed the backing of the shadow box on the linen and traced it.  Then I cut the linen to size and used a glue stick to attach it and cover the black background.

When it came to attaching the leather tools, I first laid them out to figure out where I wanted them to go and to make sure the spacing looked right.  All I did to attach them was, working one object at a time, I picked up a tool, added a drop of hot glue to the back and then placed it back in its spot and glued it to the linen.

After all the tools where glued down, I let it dry for a minute which when you are using hot glue, it dries almost instantly.  Then I put the board back into the shadow box and was done!

I am going to add B's great-grandfather name, birth/death years, and any other stories or information about him and these leather tools to the back of it so that his legacy stays alive and is remembered throughout the generations to come.

I think it really adds some family history to our desk.  I can't wait until we have a bigger house and can hang it in an office, maybe in a gallery wall or in a work/design studio.