Friday, January 2, 2015

Joy in a Jar

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone celebrated safely and responsibly, and that you’re all as ready as I am to start off 2015 on a good note.  For my part, I shared a wonderful holiday season surrounded by my family and friends, doing lots of things we love to do, like playing board games, eating yummy food, laughing so hard we cried, and of course, getting crafty. 

I don’t know about you, but for me 2014 was a very hard year.  We had a lot of ups and downs and more than a few indelicate bumps along the way.  I am more than a little happy to see it gone, and I’ve got lots of plans for 2015.  Sometimes, it’s hard for me to focus on the good things because I tend to get bogged down in all the negative things going on in my life.  That’s why when a dear, sweet friend of mine challenged me to make one of these Rememberlutions Jars, I thought it was a great way to remind myself of all the good things in my life, no matter how big or small.

To kick off 2015 with something crafty, I wanted to get really creative with my jar, but I was stumped on where to start.  I spent hours pouring over Pinterest, which was fun, but didn’t really help until my daughter suggested that I use alcohol inks on the jar.  I think they were the perfect touch!  I used my favorite Crafty Neighbor color combo of green, pink, and blue.  Tim Holtz has a great technique he used on glass Christmas ornaments.  I did pretty much the same thing, except I didn’t use the canned air.  I just used what nature gave me and blew into the jar.  It worked just fine. 

While my ink was drying, I searched online for a good “blessings” quote.  I wanted something that would remind me to count mine.  This one by Willie Nelson was a dandy.

I wasn't sure what embellishments to use, so I assembled everything into a pile and tried them all out together before settling on this combo.

I love my little jar, and I can’t wait to fill it up with 2015 goodness!  I’m hoping to fill it up by the end of the year, and then look back at all the joyful things 2015 has brought me.  Maybe I’ll even make it into an art journal page…it might help me finish the 365 I started last year!

Pictures just do not do justice to the colors in the jar!
Inks used: Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink in Citrus, Meadow, Pool, and Watermelon.