50 Button Crafts: idea #39 – button garland

Posted on October 14, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

button garland from funkyjunkinteriors.net

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

Here is another idea for Christmas, or any time of year. I can totally imagine this would be so much fun to make and use for decorating a Christmas tree or for a festive but homespun holiday look. You can use waxed twine (see the image below from HomeTalk.com), some light weight wire (as shown in by CountryMomAtHome below that), or short pieces of stiff wire like FunkyJunkInteriors.net did in the image above.

button garland wrapped around a candle from hometalk.com

button garland on light weight wire from countrymomathome.blogspot.ca

button garland tied around a package from bhg.com

It would be a good idea to document where the buttons for your project came from and any relevant stories or information about that person or family. If you are looking for more button crafts, check out my Pinterest board.

50 Button Crafts: idea #38 – button snowman

Posted on October 5, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

button snowmen by Urban Paisley

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

Fall really feels like it is here but when I look ahead I realize that Christmas isn’t that many weeks away. I want to spend the next few weeks exploring ideas that I might be able to give as gifts this Christmas, so here is the first one. These little snowmen are super simple and so effective with how they use the button holes on the top button to make mouth and eyes. I tried to find the original posting of this idea by Urban Paisley but google keeps blocking my access, so I don’t have a link. But the idea looks pretty simple and easy to replicate without instructions.

50 Button Crafts: idea #28 – button & cross-stitch Christmas ornaments

Posted on July 20, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

primitive Christmas ornaments via HowDidIDoIt.com

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

I know it is only July but this project will probably take more than a weekend so now is a great time to plan ahead and get started on something special for Christmas. Along with the pattern for the cross-stitch ornaments above on HowDidIDoIt.com there is a bit of history of how pioneers decorated their Christmas trees. It would be great to share some of the traditions of frontier Christmases along with a hand stitched ornament adorned with buttons from an ancestor. Also a great way to focus on family and not on the more commercial aspects of the holidays.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #50 – New Year Survival Kit

Posted on December 31, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

New Year Survival Kit from SnapCreativity.com

This last post on jar gifts has been more than a year in coming. I’m so excited to finally complete this series. I though this survival kit would be the perfect way to complete 2014 and start 2015. Click on either image for instructions and more. It is a great way to start the year with the determination to write more memories and stories for future generations. I hope the new year brings many happy moments and lots of time with family and friends. Thanks for sticking with me through all the ups and downs of the past year. Happy New Year everyone!

tag for New Year Survival Kit from SnapCreativity.com

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #49 – snow globes

Posted on December 31, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

snow globes from tidymom.net

What could be more fun than a tiny snowy scene in a jar. Tidymom.net has a step by step tutorial on making waterless snow globes. Below are two more ideas for snow globes with the addition of light. Oh, the possibilities! Just imagine recreating a snowy scene from one of your family stories. My parents live on a quiet rural street with lots of trees along the road. My Dad even planted a make of trees with a winding path. I love to take a late night walk through the trees or down the road when we visit. It is so quiet and peaceful. I can imagine this as a simple snow globe to remind my family of their home in Idaho. Especially now as they will certainly need to move to a more manageable place in the near future.

Street Lamp snow globe from SaltTree.net

snow scene in a jar from BlitznGiggles.com

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #48 – snowflake jar

Posted on December 30, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

snowflake jars from YourHomeBasedMom.com

This idea uses tissue paper, scrapbook paper and Mod Podge to dress up any jar. YourHomeBasedMom also used her Cricket cutter to make it easy to cut out the snowflakes. This idea is adaptable to any season or any theme. It would be pretty with a candle inside or even filled with a tasty treat. You could even cut silhouettes of an ancestor and then share that ancestor’s story. Lots of possibility with this idea.

I entered the world of computer controlled personal cutters this month to make my Christmas gifts. I bought my niece’s Silhouette Cameo when she bought the latest model on a great black Friday special. I look forward to playing around with it on future projects.

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #47 – Message in a bottle

Posted on December 30, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

thumbdrive in a bottle from Urban Outfitters

I think this thumbdrive would be such a fun way to share a history of historical photos and documents with family. There is no way it would get lost among all the other storage devices kicking around our houses these days. I wonder how hard it would be to recreate this with an inexpensive thumbdrive and small bottle from a craft store. I’ll have to keep this idea in mind for some future project.

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #46 – Potato Soup Mix in a Jar

Posted on December 29, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Potato Soup Mix in a Jar from innerchildfun.com

Can you tell it is still cold and snowy around here? The bad part is the storm is moving out and the real cold is on its way. So my brain is stuck on warm and comforting things these days. I also picked up a package of potato flakes at the store recently and made some potato soup for lunch yesterday. This mix is simple enough to have the kids in the family help put it together giving a great opportunity to share memories of working in the kitchen when you were growing up too. Or stories of warm comforting food on a cold winter night.Click on the photo above for the recipe and instructions on whipping up a batch of potato soup mix. It is quick and easy.

I enjoy throwing together a pot of soup from whatever I have on hand. Not sure where that comes from. While my husband doesn’t like “brothy” soups. He does better with thick stews and chowders. I’m guessing that both go back to childhood memories. What associations do you have with soup and your childhood?

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #45 – force bulbs in jelly jars

Posted on December 27, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

paperwhites in jelly jars from domaphile.com

After the holidays are over and the short days and longs nights of winter set in, there is nothing as wonderful as a touch of spring from forcing spring bulbs to bloom inside. For me they represent the hope of spring and that the cold days will eventual give way to warmth and green growing things. Click on the photo above for detailed instructions.

If you don’t have any family stories or ancestors that you can associate with spring and/or bulbs then how about a story of how hope for a better day helped a family member persevere through a trial. I know that for my current trial of getting my hand functional again there are days when it seems like it will never be the same. Part of the problem has been unrealistic expectations. It is going to take more time than I imagined. Just as there maybe some warm days in January but from experience more snow and cold is bound to come. But having a spring bulb on my table reminds me that spring will come and though it might take six months to a year, my hand will be fully functional again.

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #44 – Wool Jar Cozy

Posted on December 27, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Red Wool Mug Hug from Wanderlust Small Goods on Etsy.com

Until just before Christmas we have had a surprisingly warm winter. Now we have snow and it sure feels cold. The thought of warm soup or hot chocolate sounds perfect right now and this wool jar cozy made by Wanderlust Small Goods and available on Etsy.com looks like the perfect solution to keep it warm. I love warm drinks and soup too, not just hot chocolate but hot lemon and honey and anything else I can think of. (Not a coffee drinker for religious reasons.) If you are handy with a sewing machine and have an old wool coat this would be a great project and a great opportunity to share memories of the original owner of the coat or of cold winter nights and warm things to eat or drink. No wool? I’m sure that fleece would make a suitable substitute.

I don’t have anything like this from my great-great-grandmother, Mary Taylor, but a cold snow night with a batch of wool jar cozies filled with something warm and comforting would be an effective time to talk about her experiences caught in the bitter cold and snow with the Martin Handcart Company in 1856. I’m guessing your family has a story about the hardships of winter too.

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.