Gear: Picture this -- your stuff preserved and framed

Let’s say you catch a home-run ball at the big game or your child finds a gorgeous (but dry and not smelly) artifact at the beach.

The Z-Access 3-D display frames are a fun way to keep your treasures. The back and front of the 6-by 4-inch plastic frames are connected by a hinge, and each side holds a transparent flexible polyurethane sheet instead of a piece of glass or plastic.

You open the frame on its hinges, like a book, set your baseball or starfish (or whatever fits) in the middle, and gently close the frame, sandwiching the object between the two sides.

The polyurethane will stretch around the object, both sealing it in place and protecting it. Included clips secure the closed frame. Unlike typical shadowbox display frames, you can actually touch your treasure without opening the frame.

The 3-D effect is cool, and gets cooler if you choose the Slimline Rotating Frame-in-Frame model, where the framed object rotates in its frame inside a slightly larger frame.

Both models have bases that make them self-standing in horizontal or vertical positions. The frames come in a choice of seven colors.

Z-Access 3-D Frame costs $19.99; Slimline Rotating Frame-in-Frame model costs $24.99. Info: Z-Access 3-D Frame.