The last few weeks have been deliciously random and so productive for us! I think we should bounce around from room to room all the time like this… at least until we dive into a big renovation that demands all of our attention. So far this week we’ve painted raindrops & a pink door in Clara’s room, had some fun with Shannon’s design dilemma, finally finished our big sunroom floor project, and we’re actually starting to work on something in the kitchen for Monday (ahhh! that room needs more help than I did in Calculus class).
And this week’s little crafty project didn’t bomb, which is a huge relief because there were definitely a few moments of doubt. I decided to tackle something I’ve been meaning to do for, oh, about two years: displaying our vacation keepsakes in a charming and easy-to-see way. So here’s where I ended up…
It’s sort of like a vacation-memory-jar-meets-snowglobe-or-cloche, and it was actually really easy and only ran me $2.79 to make each one.
But let’s grab a ride in the Delorean and go back in time for a second. Once upon a time (back in 2008) I made six vacation time capsules here… but I haven’t been displaying them for the last few years because I just don’t love them anymore. Which is sad because I love the keepsakes – I just didn’t like the containers as much anymore.
I certainly think canning jars are crazy charming (and they’re probably more “in” now than ever) but I didn’t like that when you looked down at them on surfaces like console tables or desks or dressers, almost all that you saw was the lid instead of whatever was inside (see above).
And I also didn’t love that when you lowered your gaze to stare at them head-on (or placed them in high places like up on a bookcase) the glass was wavy, so it blurred the items inside. Here’s a comparison of how the canning jars obscured the contents compared to a regular stemless wine glass. See how much clearer the objects in the glass on the right are?
I also thought the scotch tape labels that I had added so many years ago were hard to read, especially depending on what’s behind it (you can see one in the picture above). So I wanted to come up with a way to accomplish three things:
- more clearly label the contents of each jar
- display our keepsakes behind non-wavy glass
- make them visible from above and the side instead of just from the side if at all possible
At first it felt like a tall order, but I was inspired after coming across this project, which made me realize that there might be a way to use inexpensive stemless wine glasses or vases from the craft store along with little slices of wood and some type of adhesive or caulk to connect them. It definitely could have bombed (uh… sand everywhere) but I had a few lucky breaks along the way.
For one, I couldn’t find any tree branches of the right thickness to slice in our yard or at a local firewood spot (they were all triangular or too narrow, and free of bark) and I couldn’t even locate any pre-made wood slices in the craft store (other than some too-large birch ones for $15 a pop online). But when I walked around JoAnn I did notice these little 4 x 4″ round wood plaques for 79 cents each (in their wooden box/birdhouse/plaque area). They also sold stemless wine glasses (in their party/glassware area) for $1.99.
It was nice to find both potential items at the same store because I could flip the glass over on top of the wood plaque to see how they’d work together. It kind of felt like a miracle when they lined up so well.
So as soon as I got home, I jumped right into painting the wood plaques. I debated everything from a bold color to white or charcoal or even a whitewash or a stain, but in the end I liked the idea of a timeless neutral taupe-y color the best so the items in each jar could be the focus – and I already had leftover Revere Pewter from the bathroom project upstairs. Two coats did the trick without any bleed-through from the wood (which is nice because I didn’t use primer, so it was sort of a gamble).
After they dried I used a sharpie to write each of the places we’d been on the side of each one, along with the year that we traveled there. It’s so much clearer and easier to read than tape on a wavy glass jar!
Next I decided that clear silicone caulk would be a good way to seal the glass to the wood. Here’s why: some types of adhesives/glues are thinner/runnier and I worried the seal wouldn’t be as tight as it would with a more thick/dense line of something to stick them together. The other reason that I went with clear caulk is that it can easily be sliced with an exacto knife and peeled back to free up the contents of these jars. So I don’t have to Hulk-smash them like an old school piggy bank to access things (which definitely could have been the case with crazy glue). Instead, I can just score and peel the silicone caulk to open these up again whenever I’d like. But in the meantime they’ll be nice and secure – even with things like sand floating around inside.
I just ran a thin line of it around the top of the glass like this (I used GE Premium Waterproof Silicone II Caulk in the clear color). Tip: try not to make the opening in your caulk tube too wide or caulk will pour out a lot faster/thicker and you’ll end up with a drippy ol’ mess (this is universally true for practically every caulking project, so it’s a good skill to master).
Update: I’m a paranoid prego, so I wore a ventilator and worked the caulk gun like Darth Vader (since caulk can get fumey sometimes), but I later learned that this type of caulk is on the green list. Hurrah!
After getting a thin ring of caulk around the top of the glass, I pressed the wood round onto the cup while it was still in the upright position (didn’t want things to spill all over the floor, which I was certain would happen if I flipped it over before joining it to the wooden plaque).
Once they were joined, I could easily turn it over without anything spilling. So I placed it on the table and made sure the glass dome was centered. Then I pressed the glass down with one hand (to keep it centered, since it can slide around a little before things start to set) and used the other hand to wipe the edge down with a paper towel to remove any extra caulk that was oozing out.
It only took them three hours to dry, and they were sealed up and pretty dang seamless looking. Here’s the sand, all nice and contained (you can sort of make out the clear shiny line around the base, which is the caulk doing its job). I shook that thing like a snow globe and there wasn’t a sand explosion or anything. So glad.
Right now they’re chilling on various surfaces in the office and living room, but my dream is for them to eventually end up all together in our bedroom (we’d love to add a wall of built-in cabinetry in there to make our bed feel like it’s tucked into a nook – and I can just picture them all lined up on one of the shelves). Sigh. Can’t you see it?
I’d love to keep making more over time as we travel to new places, so the paranoid collector in me is tempted to buy at least ten more wood plaques and glasses just to keep around for future vacations so they all match. Is that crazy? What do you think?
Is anyone else out there displaying vacation keepsakes? How do you do it? In shadow boxes? Scrapbooks? With framed photos? I read somewhere once that “experiential purchases” bring you the most happiness. So instead of buying a new car, if you spend money on an amazing vacation, the effects can last longer and you won’t take the purchase for granted like you might if you upgraded something that you’d use everyday and would soon become accustomed to (I found an article here about it, although I’m not sure this is the same one). Certainly makes me want to make the most of our little vacations and memorialize them when we’re back home – even though they’re usually just road trips as opposed to exotic foreign locales. Maybe someday I’ll have a vacation jar for Morocco or Australia. A girl can dream…
Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Just click on this button:
Ellie says
Not crazy at all to buy more of the plates/glass!!! I would be driven insane if I wasn’t able to get them down the road and all the vacations didn’t match. I’m with you :)
Jen B says
Love this! I have so many jars of rocks, drift wood and shells from different trips. I have almost convinced my two kids that found souvenirs from trips are way more fun then a cheap toy. Will probably head to a craft store at some point today to finish costumes will have to look for some of these! Thanks for the inspiration!
Julianne says
Love this idea! Great craft for the kids to display their treasures in their room, too. Thanks formthe inspiration! :0)
Laura & the Shell says
Adorable! And yes, I’d promptly buy a dozen more if I were you!
ce.leb says
nooooo, its not crazy! I do that all the time ;)
aaand, sometimes peoples look at you like youre crazy (like, really, you do have 30 of this?)but when you put out that special item two years later everybody is like: what, where did you got them.. they’re even matching the other ten ;)
so, I think its cool! (and maybe a women thing)
Lindsey says
This is such an awesome idea! I’m an avid scrapbooker, so paper items are easy for me to keep In a pretty place, but I’ve never really known what to do for my non-scrapbookable (I think I just made up a word…) keepsakes. I think I see a craft project in my future!
Oh, and add one more vote to getting extra supplies now. I hate for things not to match. Happy Halloween!!!
Kate says
My husband and I collect ornaments from the places we goand I always write the month and year on them, so every year when we decorate our Christmas tree it’s trip down memory lane.
Jessica says
The environmentalist in me is cringing a bit – this may not seem like a lot to take from a beach or from a park, but millions of people doing this makes an impact. A friend of mine who is a park ranger at Yosemite has said this is a huge problem within national parks.
Love the idea though – I may steal this idea for ticket stubs, etc.!
bethanyblntn says
I love, love, love, love this idea. Oh my goodness I’m totally stealing this if you don’t mind :P
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! Send pics!
xo
s
Emily @ Finding Former Glory says
Before you even mentioned it, I was thinking – “ahh! I hope she bought extras so they match in the future!” My biggest dilemma of this sorts was buying the fabric to make our Christmas stockings, and wanting to have enough to make matching ones for future kiddos, too. When the woman at the fabric store asked how many stockings I was making, I had to say, “well, I don’t really know!”
Vicki says
On a recent trip to Florida, I purchased a globe similar to yours with sand & shells…. a mere $29.95 in the hotel gift shop! Ouch!!! Lesson learned.
YoungHouseLove says
No way!
xo
s
Wendy says
LOVE! My family is getting ready to sell our beach house. Making these globes will be the perfect holiday gift and a “remember all the fun times we had at the beach?”
Thanks for always providing inspiration and great stories.
Evie says
This is a wonderful idea!! But, man, I’m jealous that you found coral at the OBX! Thanks very much for the ideas.
Blake says
Stock up! You’ll kick yourself later on if you don’t. And considering the price, it’s a low-risk investment that you could use in other ways if you change your mind. :)
Amanda says
These are gorgeous Sherry! We are going to be using jam jars for our wedding centrepieces and I think you’re right, they are very popular at the moment!
I may steal this idea for keepsakes of our day :)
ohmystarryeyed.blogspot.co.uk
cammie says
love this idea!!
Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says
Wow that came out so nice. We have friends that make corkboard displays behind glass of different significant events in their lives and they paint the frame a bold color and hang them in different rooms. It’s always changing and it’s fun to see what pops up in there sometimes.
My best, Lynn
Andrea says
I swear angels started singing when I read this post. I’ve been trying for MONTHS (years really) to find a better way to display all our travel keepsakes (they currently live in a big glass vase, which is cool but you really can’t see them well.) Since buying a token from everyplace we’ve traveled (we lived in Europe for 4 years and my husband has literally traveled the world for his job) we tend to keep things like ticket stubs to the Louvre, plastic ‘coin’ for the shopping carts from Obi (the Germany version of Home Depot), and unique hotel card keys like the one my husband brought back from Moscow that has St. Basil’s Cathedral on it. This is the perfect way to display them!
Steph says
I love these they are SO cute.
I don’t have memento jars but I do have 2 scrapbooks (that I made on shutterfly) of pics from my last two trips to Europe. They came out really nice and they’re a great way to remember the things I saw. I just came back from a 3rd and really need to get working on one so I can have it to show people around the holidays.
I wasn’t a homeowner for the first two trips so this time me and my roommate bought a magnet for every city we visited. They’re on our fridge. :)
And I do have to say, vacations are a wonderful thing. Despite how broke I am right now, I’m glad I went because you never forget things like that.
Penny says
BUY ALL THE THINGS.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Katie Carroll says
I’m sure people have said this, but no I don’t think you’re crazy for wanting to buy more “extras” and keep them on hand. In fact, I’d go ahead and paint them so they’ll all be painted from the same can. I don’t know about you, but we’ve bought “touchup” paint a year or more later and despite being the same paint and same color…it was NOT the same when we put it on the wall. DOH!
Savannah says
These are adorable! This is my favorite weekly craft yet!
sarina says
I actually had an idea.. you can find these glasses in shatterproof poly/plastic. That might not be a bad idea if you want to make these things a little more kid safe (or even animal safe says the lady with a dog with a big tail).
YoungHouseLove says
Love that!
xo
s
Katie says
Love this!!! So simple and original! Definitely stock up for future trips. My husband and I like to hike when we vacation, so I have been collecting just a single stone or pebble that I store in a glass shadow box. We’ve really got a nice geology sample going now, with volcanic rock from Hawaii to granite from Yosemite.
Linda says
I was thinking to myself, what happened to the Friday shout-outs? You didn’t have one last Friday, and then again this week. Then I realized, oops, it’s not Friday yet. Can you tell it’s been a long week? :-)
And yes, definitely stock up on more glasses and wood pieces–it will make it so easy to create them after each trip if you have the materials already on hand, and you know they will match. Mis-matched can be cute too, but since they match now, it might look odd to be mismatched later, especially if you arrange them in chronological order. Plus, they’e not that big and it seems like you have space in this house!
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! Last week’s post was just crazy long, but our little Forum Foursome will be back tomorrow! I’m with you – it certainly feels like a packed week!
xo
s
smith207 says
I really love these! The only thing I would’ve done differently is used a silver or gold paint pen instead of a Sharpie to write the location and year. It just might help it look a little more finished…
YoungHouseLove says
Love that!
xo
s
Laurie says
I have a thing for rocks so I tend to collect rocks when I’m somewhere and now I have bowls and vases of rocks. Sometimes I keep one kind all together (like all the pink quartz I found around my brother’s house on a visit) and sometimes it is just a few pretty rocks in a bowl of a lot of rocks that hold candles.
I admit, it doesn’t memorialize the trip very well and more than a few people have wondered what is up with the rocks. Ah well. They make ME happy.
YoungHouseLove says
I think that’s sweet!
xo
s
Emily says
I love rocks and geology too, and I think they memorialize a trip just as well as shells :)
Carla B. says
I’m undecided! Half of me thinks it would be really cool to have them different somehow (maybe the glass/dome or wood from your vacation destination?) but then the OCD in me likes the idea that they’re all the same. Cute and very doable idea, nonetheless. :) I love it!
alg (amy) says
SO cute & clever — your way was much cheaper than buying actual empty snow globes, but look just as good! You’ve outdone yourself, $herdog!
PS — Happy Halloween :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Alg! Happy Halloween to you too!
xo
s
Shannon [Our Home Notebook] says
Such a great way to display keepsakes! They turned out so well. I’m got some keepsakes that I’ve been meaning to put into shadowboxes. Thanks for the inspiration.
Lori says
Not a crazy idea – buy them now! Buy as many as you think you might need. When you’ve lived another 20-ish years, you’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t. If you end up changing your style, it wouldn’t have been a huge investment, and if you end up wanting them, getting them now is cheaper and easier than option A (time travel) or option B (regret). (BTW, love them!)
Kimberly says
That is amazing! I’m so inspired to do this for all our trips/ special moments AND to make some of these for Christmas gifts for the family!
Charlotte from Germany says
The pictures won’t load for me, I mean all except for one won’t. Neither in the reader nor on your page. I hope it’s not a permanent glitch. Love your blog, and my sis gave me your book with all your “behind the scenes” blog posts as bookmarks at the correct spots.
YoungHouseLove says
SO sorry Charlotte! It’s the first we’ve heard on that and we haven’t changed anything on our end, so maybe it’s just a virus-blocking software on your computer (we hear they can block our pictures randomly for 1% of readers for a day or two and then they miraculously pop back up). Wish we could do something to help!
xo
s
Claudia says
When I first saw the picture, I thought you used a basic clear globe shade with the metal ceiling mount. Which actually might work for a bigger memory-globe! Either way, awesome idea and I plan to try it out!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds fun!
xo
s
Gabbi @ Retro Ranch Reno says
This is such a great idea! So cute!!
Brittney Everett says
I LOVE Them! I think they look soo great and a great way to preserve memories! I am all for spending my money on vacations rather than things! By the time I graduated University, I didn’t have a car or a cell phone, but I’d been to Europe 3 times!
Brittney Everett says
P.S. I also think it’s completely practical to buy several more ingredients for future globes!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s amazing Brittney!
xo
s
adrienne says
ohmigosh! this was exactly what i was looking for technique-wise.
i’m planning on making sunjars for my wedding and was looking for a technique to use silicone caulk to glue the solar light to the lid of the jar. this came out just at the right time! we even bought the same caulk!
thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! Good luck Adrienne!
xo
s
Victoria says
Pure genius! I am so stealing this idea. I have lots of shells and sand, etc. scattered everywhere in various things from vacations and this crafty project will give them presence.
I can then display them together and they will have more impact and more meaning. Thanks once again for enriching our lives.
Oh, and of course, buy more for the future. Happy Halloween.
Brandy J says
Such a cool idea! may have to try this sometime.
Amanda says
My boyfriend is a physicist so I went with a nerdy idea I stole from Nathan Fillion: test tubes! We collect sand/dirt from every place we go on vacation and display it in a test tube rack.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that!
xo
s
Stacey C says
LOVE! Thanks for the idea!
Andrea says
This is the best idea ever! I still have a small water bottle filled with sand from a college trip to Cancun, and while it makes me laugh every time I see it (Who knew a water bottle would last 13 years, and NINE moves!), I would love to do something fun like this. (This is way more practical then scrapbooks that take up so much valuable bookshelf space) No you are so not a ‘paranoid collector’, stock up now (Black Friday is coming soon, a great time to buy!) so they all match once you have your dream bookshelves created! Happy crafting!
Virginia says
I keep small shells and sand from places we visit. I have Cape Cod and New Jersey, Iceland and Istanbul! I use small, thick glass spice bottles with cork, but each jar is a little different. Love your craft – yes! go buy more. Have too many later, or change your mind? It’s a small investment. You could make gifts.
And keep making those trips – nearby and far away!!
Susan in Colorado says
Love this idea!! I have been ‘collecting’ sand from various places around the world. Some are gifts from family. I think this idea would work great with my sand! Although I wonder if just sand is boring. I don’t have shells to accompany the various sand. Ummmm think think…
Susan
YoungHouseLove says
I’ve seen people save sand and it’s fun to see it next to other sand (sometimes it’s darker or grainier or even pink or white).
xo
s
HeatherB says
Buy the spares!! I was actually thinking that when I looked at how many you showed painted…for less than 3 bucks a piece, having the materials for future trips (which you know will come) is well worth it.
We have an ongoing collection of shells in a glass terrarium jar (almost identical to the one you’re “digging” :), with every layer being a different beach trip, but I love this idea of separate ones for each vacation. We live in FL and my hubby and I make a point of having a weekend getaway to a different beach for every anniversary. May have to start a new tradition next year–not to mention the terrarium is getting full!
YoungHouseLove says
Those sound so cool!
xo
s
Stephanie S. says
Great idea! I would say, you should totally buy more! It’s kind of like the photo album thing, when you wished you bought a zillion of the same color/style because by the time you need to add more to your collection, they’re nowhere in sight!
Meghan says
What a great idea!
Jen says
OH Wow! I did something similar when I made a collage of our first big trip!
We got a print from Disney because we took a survey about our Epcot Visit. AC Moore a frame for 5 dollars to frame this but because DH wanted to keep the envelope it came in, so I had a to get a frame WAY bigger than the print. DH had never taken a vacation this this before, so he kept things like tickets, a coaster, an un-used fast pass, our room key/ticket things, and assorted other vacation items. While I did lay out, he actually disassembled one of the pins that said “Happily Ever After”. We also made copies of park map covers, and printed out some pictures.
I have decided that for our “big trips” we are going to do more of these. It makes us happy to look at it ever time we see it! Love this idea for our mini adventures, and totally agree about the gift of experiences. I love to do things like that with kiddos.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really cute Jen!
xo
s
Kristin says
As everyone else has stated, I absolutely LOVE this project!! I always buy shot glasses & sometimes magnets when we go on vacation so my man & I have a ton of shot glasses on display behind a glass door so no animals / children can get to them.
I definitely think you should be the paranoid collector and buy at least ten more wood plaques & glasses to keep for future vacations so they all match.
I purchased 3 DVD cases a few years back & we have now filled them, but when I went to buy at least 2 more my exact case doesn’t exist. I have them out on display in our entertainment bookcases so I would really like them to match, but now I don’t know what I’m going to. Unfortunately Ebay doesn’t have any listed like mine since there are so many cases out there so we’ll see what I decide :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Hope you find them soon!
xo
s
Jackie says
What a brilliant project! I’m definitely jumping on board with this genius idea! But can I please make a suggestion? Come to New Zealand for a visit (which is right next to Australia). You will love it here! Beautiful landscape and lots of treasures you can find for your collection xo
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we would LIVE for that!
xo
s