Reuse Glass Jars: Memorabilia Specimen Jars

I take a lot of little road trips to strange and interesting places.  Sometimes I pick up little do-dads here and there.  Maybe it's a ticket stub from the museum we went to.  Maybe it's an interesting stone I found along the way.  Perhaps another little souvenir. 

From a very young age I have been a scrapbooker, so I have been collecting things for my scrapbooks my entire life.  Unfortunately, the older I get and the more responsibilities I have, the less time I have for scrapbooking.

I have discovered digital scrapbooking, which you no doubt have noticed if you are a frequent visitor here!  I find it to be so relaxing and much more simple than the old way.  I don't have to bring out a bunch of paper and supplies and spend days on layouts.  (I am an affiliate, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I love My Memories.  I have a discount for you if you're interested in giving digital scrapbooking a try!)

Even so, there are plenty of tangible items that I have laying around that I can't bear to give up, but I have no where to put them.

I came up with an idea for keep the items!  Glass jars!  Sort of like specimen jars, but with memorabilia instead.

For example, the beach is a popular vacation destination.  Maybe you've even already done this:  gather sand and sea shells and place them in a jar (a reused jar, of course!)

I think this is a great idea for any destination.  I always have ticket stubs, little trinkets, stones and whatever else I might find and pick u along the way.  Just place them in a jar.

Then you can even make a cute sticker with the date, where you were and what you did.  (You could even use the My Memories software to make the sticker.)  

How cute would a bunch of jars lined up on your shelf from your different travels be?  Or use them as bookends!

I haven't actually tried it yet, but I will definitely share when I make the first one!

Other ideas:

Gifts:  Make them for gifts!  Put little things in the jar that remind you of the person you are making it for.  Think of the secret jokes you share or the fun times you have had together and find small inexpensive trinkets to commemorate them.

If you go on a group trip - make one for each of the participants for a holiday gift.  Then you get to remember the fun you had all over again.

Have a friend you haven't seen in a while?  This would be a great way to get reacquainted with them!  Send them a memorabilia specimen jar with some of the fun memories you had in the past.

Wedding:  Fill up jars with little things about the Bride and Groom - maybe little known facts - and use them as centerpieces for the reception.

These could even be used as personalized wedding favors in smaller weddings.

They don't have to be expensive.  The point is the actual memory, not the cost.

Are you going to make a memorabilia specimen jar?  What will you put in your jar?  Click on comment and let me know.

Flowers and my Grandmother

Maybe you have noticed, I love flowers.  But the truth of the matter is that I cannot grow them.  Every time I get a plant or try to plant flowers, they die.  I bought a Venus Fly Trap recently, and it's only still alive because my boyfriend takes care of it.

Growing up, my grandmother always had flowers.  She planted them all around her house and in a flower garden in the front yard.  She spent hours - days even - weeding and planting on her knees for as long as should could.  When she got too frail to do the planting herself, her family members would do it for her.  I did it at least one year that I can remember.  It's hard work.  I didn't mind at all, though.  Although, I can't seem to take care of my own.

My mother is the same way.  Flowers all over.  This year because of medical problems, my mom isn't supposed to be bending over.  She found a way around this because it wouldn't even occur to my mom to not have flowers.

My grandmother's favorite song was the hymn "In the Garden."  When she was in the hospital in her last days, we all gathered around her bed and sang it to her.  She couldn't talk because of the equipment that was keeping her alive, but we know she loved it.  We all sang the song through tears at her funeral.

Anytime I hear that song, I think of Gram and her flowers.

So that is why I love flowers and probably why I make so many out of other materials - buttons, fabric, tissue paper from patterns, bottle caps, etc.  I want to keep flowers around, even if I'm not good at growing them.

If you love flowers, but don't have a green thumb, or you want to remember your favorite gardener, you can make your own, too!  Or you can visit my booth at Building Character and pick some from me.  (If you aren't in the Lancaster, PA USA area, feel free to contact me to order some!)

Or you can find this Pink Bouquet Wire Wrapped Ring my my Etsy Shop:

or any other flower items in my shop.