DIY Reading & Memory Jar
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Before the start of the year, I shared with you all my Hopes & Resolutions for 2014. These included doing more 'crafty' things, reading through my 'to-read' pile and writing more for this blog. I feel like this post is going to be the start of including all three together!
The reason I've wanted to start being a bit more 'creative' just because of the face that working 2 jobs, being in college 9-meant to be 5 3 days a week, really does take it out of me. So I've just been wanting to try and do creative and crafty things that have nothing to do with college work at all. I'm hoping doing this might help me look at my studies differently and that I may feel a bit more creative, especially during units that I don't particularly get along with *cough, cough, I'm looking at you infographic brief*.
Inspired by the many crafts over at e-elise etc I've been wanting to get my hands on little glass jars and use them for a number of different projects for a while now. The two I've been really wanting to make have been a Reading Jar and as of recently a Memory Jar.
The jar I decorated for my Reading Jar is simple just decorated with my stripy washi tape that I bought from TK Maxx. I also wrote a little label on it. The jar is about half full with all the books I have written about in my books to read post.
The second jar I bought is a slightly larger than the one I've used for the 'books to read'. For this jar I used a similar idea to how Erin decorated her own jar. I flicked through magazines and stamped pretty designs that I seen. Throughout 2014 I hope to fill this jar with heaps of memories!
I hope these have sparked imagination in yourself and you try to create your own version too! For a detailed DIY post on how to decorate jars then have a look over at Erins blog posts about it here.
Please link me below to any creations or DIYs you have made/liked a lot! Always looking for more inspiration.
14 comments
In addition to the jar, for reading more books I really recommend Goodreads. I went from reading just 4 books in 2012 to 40 books in 2013 just by setting up a 'to-read' list and keeping track of what I've read. Every book that you read usually gives you at least 1-2 new ones that seem interesting (through references, quick mentions etc.), I learned to instantly look them up on goodreads, and - if they have good reviews - add them to my list. I also see what my friends are reading and if something interests me, I add it as well.
ReplyDeleteThis way, although my 'to-read' list is much longer now, it doesn't seem overwhelming, because I never forget anything and also I read much much more :)
my profile: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/14794896-anna
Thank you for this its great info! I do actually already have a GoodReads account and I've just started using it again, especially since they have the '2014 challenge' on it. So it's a great record for that too! I've not actually found any books with it so I may try when I'm needing more books!
DeleteThe jar I made is more for actually picking which book I will read since I have so many! thank you! x
I ditto the love for goodreads - while it's not as pretty as your memory jar it's a really helpful way to remember which books you want to read and the ones that you have. Plus you can make pretty virtual bookshelves.
ReplyDeleteYeah! Definitely a good thing about it just wanted something to more pick a book at random since I have literally 15 books to read haha!
DeleteThese are gorgeous! I think I need to start a 'books to read' jar since I have hundreds of books on my shelves and I can never pick one to read! I should list all of them and put them in.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspo. x
haha yeah! it's really difficult to pick one when you have heaps. I used to normally just read in the order of what I bought them, but it's been so long since I've bought some that I can't remember! x
DeleteI love these jars! I am very fond of jars, but never really have any reason to have them, but maybe I might do something like this :)
ReplyDeleteCaitlin | Oceanic Stars
It's definitely a good way to use jars! But you could also use them for holding art supplies like pens, pencils and paint brushes. Could also use it for make up stuff to! The ideas are endless!
DeleteGreat idea hon! I love the books-to-read jar. I have so many titles on my list, it would be fun to just draw from the jar and pick one by random. Plus the jars are so cute!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :) It's definitely a more exciting and cute way to pick a book!
DeleteAw, I love how you've decorated your jars! I'm currently in the process of doing my own memory jar!
ReplyDeleteEden from edenroses xx
Thank you! and ooh cool! link me it if you post about it! x
DeleteWith all that on your plate it amazes me how you manage to write so regularly on your blog and keep things so fresh. It's a great work ethic you have. X
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to lie, it can be pretty difficult! It wasn't so bad this past week and this week to as I don't have to be in college. Thank you so much though! :) x
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