You did it. You made us laugh. You made us cry. You made us a part of your gift giving this holiday season and we couldn’t be happier. After reading through 30 some odd stories we, with great difficulty and much deliberation, found our favorites. Of course, the stories were so great that it was impossible to decide on only five entries; so six lucky winners it is!
While determining the top six stories we looked for profound uniqueness and sentiment. In no particular order, here are the stories that outshone the rest of them:
As a way to help her daughter establish her art collection Becky framed a drawing by Chicago artist, Francine Turk. Her daughter, McKinley, has long been an admirer of Francine’s work and recently achieved her goal to save enough to purchase one of her drawings. Becky has given her daughter two very special gifts: one of framing her first piece in her collection and the other, an appreciation for art that will last a lifetime.
Do you recall the tale of the long distance love birds? We do! We love the way 
Jeremy found the key to making the 2000 miles that separate he and his girlfriend seem a little closer. By placing beautiful photos of their respective homes at sunset in a single frame he showed how framing can help bring people together.
17 years ago Shelly’s husband, Ivo, went into the hot sauce making business in her Lakeview kitchen. Fast forward to 2011 when Shelly decided to frame the initial label prototypes and very first bottle of hot sauce ever made. Can you believe that small bottle packs 20 different peppers? Even more impressive, the chef now has two stores and has sold thousands and thousands of bottles. Hot Tamale!
Jeff grew up with this collection of photos from Italy during World War II, which was taken by his father, who happened to be a photographer for the U.S. Army during World War II. After his parents moved in 1970, the photos were relocated from above the living room sofa to the attic. It wasn’t until 1999, when Jeff’s father passed on, that the photos returned to Jeff. Now they will finally find their rightful place on the wall of Jeff’s home office.
You know those rambunctious kids that never seem to be able to sit still? It turns out that was Kristin’s father, and she has the letter to prove it! 
After her grandmother passed away Kristin was left in charge of sorting through her boxes of family memorabilia. While sifting through photos and such, Kristin found a hilarious letter written in 1950 by Fresh Meadows Nursery Center remarking on her father’s development as a five year old. Realizing that her dad probably had no idea that the letter existed, Kristin created a shadow box to preserve this precious memory for him.
The holidays are a time for the family to gather and laugh, reminisce and create new memories. Sadly, for Linda’s boyfriend, Billy, the opportunity to do so has dwindled. In the last three years he has lost the remainder of his nuclear family, of whom he spent a great part of the last ten years caring for. In 2009, while Linda and Billy were preparing his Aunt Ruthie, who was like a mother to him, to move to a nursing home, Billy entrusted Linda with toy trucks from his childhood. Linda recognized how much these worn little toys meant to Billy and indeed kept them safe. This holiday season Linda thoughtfully helped Billy remember the good ol’ days by giving his beloved trucks a new home in an elegantly simple shadow box. Leaves you a little misty-eyed, doesn’t it?
There you have it, folks. Your memories and stories all sealed within four sides for your family to treasure for years to come. Thank you for sharing!
