Blessings Jar Tutorial

Supplies for this project consisted of one square one quart jar, spray adhesive, crafter's glue or fabric glue, colored paint markers, half a yard of fabric, lace trim, rubber bands, and wooden embellishments. I purchased the jar at Walmart for about $4.00. You could use a smaller or larger jar but I didn't want to use the smaller jar because I didn't think there would be enough space to fill it with mementos over the course of one year and I chose not to do the larger jar because I wanted it to be easy to display in a kitchen or on a table and this size seemed  just right. The rest of the supplies were purchased at a craft store.

I spent way too much time in Joann'es picking out just the right fabric for each family member but that was the best part about the project. 

I began by playing with the placement of the fabric to see what looked right where. I didn't need to realize my chicken was upside down on one side after I had already glued on the fabric. After playing around with placement I put a rubber band around the top of the glass over the fabric and positioned the fabric exactly how I wanted it to lay.   

I then cut all the excess fabric to just above the top of the lid so it would fan out a bit. I then took off the rubber band let the fabric fall while still keeping the jar centered. I removed the lid and sprayed almost the entire jar with a light coating being careful not to spray where the lid goes on. I put the rubber band back on and stuck on my fabric on. 

 I then put the finishing touches on. I used lace around the top of the jar and  added a wooden sign that said Blessings to the front of my jar.

 On the opposite side of my blessings sign I glued on a pouch to keep papers and a pen so that people could write down their happy thoughts and memories without having to search for pen and paper. To make the pouch I just took the remaining fabric and glued the two sides to make a pouch, added some lace and glued that onto the jar with crafter's glue. You could also use fabric glue. I then cut up parchment paper into squares and put them in the pouch with a pen.

For the final step I wrote up a message and attached it to the lid with removable tape. 

Have family and friends fill this jar

with blessed and happy thoughts

memories, quotes, pictures

and things throughout the year.

Then next Christmas

as you all gather near

open the jar and smile

as you recall the happy moments 

you held so dear!

HAVE A BLESSED 2013!

Other Blessing Jars

This project is so versatile you could customize it to fit any occasion. 

* Blessings Jar

* The Jar of Thankfulness - Can be filled with what you are thankful for throughout the year and read with

   loved ones at Thanksgiving.

* The Jar of Positive Thoughts - People fill the jar with positive thoughts, can be used in an office, home, 

   classroom, anywhere. When the mood seems negative pull out a happy thought.

* 101 Happy Thoughts - Fill the jar with happy thoughts to be read whenever a lift in spirits is needed.

* Memory Jar - specific to a vacation, holiday, or event 

* Anniversary - The jar could be filled with memories, pictures, quotes, etc. documenting the couples life

   together.

* Wedding - Each guest could put in a happy thought or memory about the bride and groom.

* Baby Shower or Baby Gift - You could decorate the jar with the child's name or just do a baby theme if  

   the sex is not known, then the jar can be filled by guests with memories about the parent's, parenting tips,   

   quotes, mementos from the shower, pregnancy, birth.The jar could also be used to collect memories,

   thoughts, pictures, mementos of the babies first year for him or her to have later. Similar to keeping a baby

   book.  

* Bridal Shower - Guests can write down memories, tips, quotes for a successful and happy marriage, 

   photo's, mementos of the relationship.

* Teacher Gift - Students can put in happy thoughts, issues within the classroom, etc..

Please let me know your ideas and pics of your own blessings jars. Happy crafting!

Well Christmas has come and gone once again, but it was a very blessed holiday indeed. One of the best I have experienced in many years. This is the first year my four year old understood the magic and joy that is Christmas. It was amazing as a parent to sit back and watch the wonder in my child's eyes when he saw Santa for the first time. That was truly the highlight of my holiday.

I was a crafting fool this Christmas. I made a personalized gift for each person on my list. It certainly made the gift giving that much more exciting. For me the best part about Christmas is watching others open their gifts. I love to see the smiles and joy.

My theme this year was warmth, happiness, and blessings for the New Year. I purchased soft blankets for each person on my list and then crafted a personalized gift to go with the warm blanket. I already had the warmth part of my theme covered with the blankets, now I just needed to work on the happiness and blessings part of my theme. When my family spends time together we like to open a bottle of wine or enjoy our favorite spirits so for the happiness part of my theme I made personalized coasters for everyone to set their favorite drink on. I also made a piggy bank out of a growler to save up for the fine wine and spirits, and of course to cover the blessings part of my theme and my personal favorite of all the gifts, I made blessings jars for everyone. I got the idea from a post from a friend on Facebook about a memory jar. It was very simple, just a jar that was filled with happy thoughts memories, pictures, and assorted items throughout the year. I decided to take that idea and make it my own. The end product turned out better than I could have hoped and was received with smiles and joy.

Tutorials of how I created each of my DIY Christmas gifts are posted below if you are interested.

Lightbulb Duck

I am now addicted to making creations out of lightbulbs.

Lightbulb Bunny

Paint Chip Mosaic Project #2

Well, I have definitely found a craft I am good at; paint chip mosaics!
Choosing the colors and creating the design is so much fun! Each one turns out different and there are so many ways to play with color, design, texture, depth, and size. My latest mosaic turned out great, very different from the mosaic I posted earlier in the blog. The texture is my favorite part about this project. I mixed matte Modge Podge with shiny Modge Podge and it catches the light very nicely.

Hand Print Tree Project

My sister-in-laws birthday was coming up and I was thinking of different crafty things I could do and saw this great idea on Pinterest thanks to the Nap Time Decorator blog. It was a tree with handprints for branches. My sister in-law loves trees and anything that's about family so I had my crafty idea, I just needed to think about how to put it all together.

So my supplies included 3 pieces of large poster board, paint chips of various colors, a brown acrylic paint marker, a few tubes of acrylic paints in various colors, spray adhesive, a printed quote about family, and a picture frame. I had all of the supplies except the acrylic paint markers, they cost about $9.00 for a set of six markers, well worth it.

The Nap Time Decorator made her tree very simplistic. I wanted mine to have a little more depth to it. I did this by using paint chips to make the grass and ground cover and also used paint chips for the leaves. There really is no end to what you can create with paint chips!

I drew the tree on a separate piece of poster board, colored it in using a brown acrylic paint marker, then cut it out and played around with the positioning of it. I then painted my husband and my boys hands each a different color and had them put their print on a separate piece of poster board. It took two tries for each of my little guys since they were a little confused as to what I was doing. Then I did my own hand and cut the prints out. Once cut I played with positioning and fit to make sure the look was right for what I was going for and also to make sure the hand prints fit over the tree and into the frame without looking crowded.

Now that I had all my pieces it was time to paste them onto the poster board. I started with my green and brown paint chips for my grass and foreground. Next I pasted on the base of the tree and then added the hand prints. I then affixed my printed quote and then glued on the leaves. I found a frame that matched the coloring on the tree perfectly and ta da, project complete!

I really enjoyed this project. It was fun to get my whole family involved, even if they were not thrilled to have "icky" paint on their hands, and I enjoyed drawing and creating. I haven't done that in so long, there just isn't enough time!!

Anyone can do this and it makes great art for your home or as a gift. Have fun and post a picture if you try it for yourself.

Garlic  Chicken Soup with Acini Pepe Pasta, Broccoli,

& Carrots

Evenings in our house can be pretty crazy with trying to get two little boys fed, bathed, and ready to go to sleep so dinner needs to be easy and quick, but still needs to taste really good. 

There is at least one night a week when I am looking for a new way to use leftover chicken breast and soups are quick and easy, and you can use so many combinations to change it up from what was made the last time you had leftover chicken. This recipe took some trial and error to get it just right but it has now become a staple in our household this winter. It is fast, easy, and so, so yummy.

INGREDIENTS

3 Tablespoons Butter

½ Cup Frozen Onions (half of a small onion if you choose not to use frozen)

1 teaspoon Chopped Garlic

2 Tablespoons Flour

4 Cups Chicken Broth or 1 - 32 oz Box of Chicken Broth

½ cup Acini Pepe Pasta

1 Can Cream of Celery Soup

1  - 19 oz Bag Green Giant Frozen Broccoli and Carrots with Garlic and Herbs

1 Cup Cooked Chicken or Turkey Cubed

½ Cup of Water

½  teaspoon of Pepper

¾  teaspoon of Poultry Seasoning

1  teaspoon Soy Sauce

6 – 10 Drops Hot Pepper Sauce

DIRECTIONS

In 8qt dutch oven melt 3 TBS of butter over medium high heat.

Add onion and cook for one minute.

Add garlic then cook until onion is soft and slightly browned.

Slowly whisk in flour then add chicken broth.

Turn heat up to high for 2 minutes or until mixture becomes creamy. 

Turn heat down to medium and add pasta.

Cook one minute more then add cream of celery soup, frozen vegetables, chicken, water, pepper, and poultry seasoning.

Cook 5 - 7 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.

Add soy sauce and hot pepper sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.

ENJOY!

Approximate cooking time is 20 minutes

Serves 4 – 6 People