Our Thankful Jar

Lately, I have been all about the craft blogs. HellllllooOOooo! There are tons of great blogs out there if you are even minutely into crafty kinds of things. The ones with tutorials, are of course a favorite because they take so much of the guesswork out of it. The less I agonize over getting it "just right" the better. The oldest child in me must be appeased after all, dear reader.

I am especially drawn to the shabby chic look in decorating and crafting. I love the neatness and grandeur of a formal look and yet the pull toward the comfort of rustic is just as strong. A bundle of contradictions, I tell you. Perhaps that is why shabby chic is so appealing. I get the bits of formality and detail in a comfortable, unpretentious way that even The Calm One can live with.

I have so many projects bookmarked that it'll take ages to get to them all. Yet I still hungrily browse through my favorite craft blogs, looking for new projects to try. I came across this Thankful Jar project just yesterday and it inspired me to go right out to Hobby Lobby *drool* and make one for myself.

Poor Whirling Dervish was dragged to the craft store once again. He knows exactly the part of the store Mommy makes a beeline for upon entering. First the closeouts and then the scrap booking aisles. Only this time I had everything I needed on hand except for an apothecary jar. Different part of the store, but I still allowed myself to go through the scrap booking aisles. Hey, it was on the way.

I'm just sayin'.

I have a few pictures lined up, but it is in no way meant to be a tutorial. You can find that here. (Thanks to Little Birdie Secrets for step by step instructions. You Rock!)

I was dealing with our evening routine in the midst of this project so taking pictures became more of an afterthought than a primary goal in this post. (Note to self: Letitgo!)

Assemble your "ingredients." Mine changed a couple of times. For example, I added buttons toward the end and they are not shown here. I also thought I'd be doing a huge double bow from my gold and maroon ribbons. Didn't happen. Seems my bow tying skillz are quite lacking. Ah well.

And here is where there is a huge gap between pictures. Allow me to fill in the details. After cutting my background paper to size with a scalloped pair of scissors, I inked the edges of the paper a maroon color. Then I added the chipboard letters "THANKS" using very thin glue dots.

I placed the paper inside the apothecary jar and adjusted the paper as well as I could to lay against the inside of the jar. Much taping, re-taping and a few grumbles later, it fit. This perfectionist just could not be satisfied.

Letitgo!

It almost became a cuss jar instead of a thankful jar. Oh, I kid, I kid. Kinda.


I tied a maroon ribbon around the handle of the jar and cut too many some coordinating colored papers to fit inside the jar. Then I added buttons around the rim of the jar using glue dots once again. Really, is there a better adhesive out there than those awesome little dots? I think not.

Above you can see that we each filled out a paper on the blank side to say what we are thankful for. And we'll do this at least until Thanksgiving, perhaps even beyond. During Christmas, I think I'll make a garland out of our thankful strips (just like Little Birdie Secrets) and hang them in a prominent area. That way, we are reminded of our blessings during two holidays, not just one. Two uses out of one project for about $4. Excellent.




Here is the finished product (front and back - if a round jar could have a front and back, that is).

As a side note, I'll you that I would have put another row of buttons on the bottom of the jar so it wouldn't look so top heavy, but there are ridges at the bottom that just didn't allow for that. Choose your jar carefully! I didn't have a huge selection of choices in the size of jar I was looking for, so I just went with it.

Letitgo!

Honestly, the biggest challenge was is keeping little chickadee hands away from the jar when we aren't using it. Sometimes the temptation of a little pretty thing is just too much for a Jubilant chickadee to overcome.

And if you haven't clicked over to Little Birdie Secrets link be sure to do so. Her jar is beautiful. Kudos!