Creating Memories in 2013..

When the new year rolled around and I started reflecting back on 2012, I really had a difficult time remembering all the moments and highlights of the year.  Folks, it's no mystery, my memory is bad.  Short term or long term, it doesn't matter.  It's all poor.  I've always thought it was from multiple years of being on medication for depression, but I can't seem to get a confirmation on that.  It is what it is.

I decided that in 2013, I'd do a better job of documenting moments I wanted to cherish.  Without writing down the moments, I knew there'd be little chance of me remembering them.  I had seen someone post a nifty little 'mason jar of memories' on a social media site and I couldn't resist making my own.

Below is how I made my 2013 Memories Jar.  I made it with supplies I already had on hand.  I've found that keeping the jar by the bed has made it easier to remember to write down memories.

Memory Jar

Supplies:  jar, decorative paper of your choice, solid color paper, felt, tape or glue, regular scissors, ruler, pencil, marker, sticker numbers, decorative scissors

Gathering Some Supplies



Steps:

1.  Make sure your jar is nice and clean, inside and out.
2.  Decide how much decorative paper you want to show on your jar.  My jar actually had an indented "band" at the top and bottom of the jar.
3.  Using your ruler, measure the width of the jar in which you want the decorative paper to show.  In my case, I just measured the "band."
4.  Next, cut your decorative paper to fit your measurments.
5.  Tape the decorative paper around your jar.  You can also glue the paper, but I wanted to have a jar I could reuse down the road.  Thus, I decided to use tape for this whole project.  You decide!



6.  Now it's time to make the felt, "2013" mount to go on the front of the jar.
7.  Trace the "mouth" (where you'd normally drink from) of the jar onto the felt color of your choice with a pencil.  I used white felt since it best matched my decorative paper.
8.  Add the sticker numbers to the felt to make sure they fit within the circle.



9.  Cut out the felt circle.  Decide if you like the size of the circle.  If so, go ahead and tape it  or glue it to the center of your jar. 
10.  If you think the circle looks too big for your jar, like in my case, you can edit the shape of the circle.  I decided to just cut swiggly lines on the top and bottom of the sticker numbers.

11.  Adhere the felt piece to your jar by either using tape or glue.  Your choice.

12.  Now that your jar is complete, you need to cut out paper strips to write your memories on.

13.  I just used white paper for my strips.  I decided to cut them with decorative scissors to give them a fun edge.

14.  Place the strips of paper in your jar along with a marker to write your memories with. 

15.  Create and write down your memories.  Then on NYE of 2013, read all of your memories and allow for time to reflect!

 

Like I said, I keep the jar near the bed, so I can see it as I go to bed and write down anything that happened that day.  I've encouraged my husband to add to the jar as well.  Make this what you wish. You get to decide what memories to document.  It can be a good movie you watched, a new recipe you tried, a book you read, a vacation you went on, your favorite song that week, etc.  The options are endless!  I can't wait to read these at the end of the year!

 

Here's to creating lots of memories in 2013!