If my mama were alive, pretty sure my mama loved and would've been amazed to have seen her image on this unusual picture frame.
Somewhere two months back, I've come across a story from 
According to Mary, this type of picture frame is called Lithophane where the image appears when you put it against the sun or simply light it from the back.
She also mentioned that it was her sister 
It took me like a month to proceed ordering one because I still haven't chosen a photo. I was also busy over some thing during that time so searching over albums and folders for the perfect photo felt taxing.
After scrolling to my seemingly endless photos of mama, I still went for this photo where she looked very happy holding a flower close to her ears. She loves flowers and gardening. This is also the photo my sister have printed for her altar and another on our living room area.
I wasn't told when the package was already shipped so I was surprised when a delivery rider came handing the package. To be fair, I told them to take their time because I wasn't in a rush anyway. The package arrived late afternoon and had only the time to open in the morning.
Even without light, I can already figure my mama's image. This will look much prettier and see the magic once it's lit. I still have things to do that day so I was only able to turn its light on when night came.
Upon some quick research, I read that lithophanes can be made through carving wax, cnc machine, or 3D printing. I guess based from the videos I've seen, the tool used for making my mama's lithophane photo was a 3D printer. It's cool seeing some sneak peek on how the lithophanes were made.
The picture frame has its own light which operates on USB C connection. There's also a switch to easily switch on and off the light. This is good because it makes it convenient to operate and also more safe to use.
The wooden frame is thick, by the way. And it can stand upright or slanted. I wish you can hang it on the wall but I remembered the USB port is at the back which makes it impossible to hang it flat.
For the trial, I used my tablet's C type cord and plugged it in my power bank.
Tadah! My dear mama's image was perfectly rendered! Even the tiny details of my mama's dress looked fantastic. I have nothing but amazement how the varied depths of the embossed texture picture frame produce a perfectly looking photo when lighted.
Somehow this method of putting light to see an image reminds me of the negative films.
The light attached inside the frame is bright enough to show the image in the lithophane. This is how it looks like inside a room with lights on.
I also brought it when we visited our mama's grave after New Year's Day to see how it would look like outdoors. However, the sun has already risen when we arrived and overpowered the frame's light.
I'm thankful Mary and Caryl have thought of making this craft. It's beautiful and a great way to show how special the person on the photo is.
Truly a work of art!
Thanks for reading! 💚