Personalized Jars

As I stated in a previous post about my kitchen, we have several cabinets which we chose to leave open. I enjoy decorating them with some of my favorite Christmas serving pieces and knick knacks. The frolicking snowman in the photo above is balancing on one foot and managing to stay put because I attached his foot to the cabinet with that yellow gooey gum that you can buy on the office supply aisle of most stores. He is very showy.

I use some of my shelves for dishes and glasses, and some for decorations. There is no real rhyme or reason for what I like or why I like it. I just enjoy things that are cute, silly, tiny, and/or sentimental. I cover the bottoms of each shelf with "snow", which is a messy process, but well worth it.

The jars on the bottom shelf are for each member of my family. They are Martha Stewart jars that I found at K-mart a couple of years ago. I poured Epsom salt in the bottom of each one to look like snow, then placed an ornament that best represented them on the inside. Then I personalized them with sticky scrabble letters and tied them with bows.

Here is a close-up of the one I did for Gil, who is a world traveler. A globe spanner. I actually suspended his ornament. The tiny angel band that can be seen playing in front of Gil's jar was one of my mom's favorites, so now it is mine as well.

My jar has a nurse figurine in it. My mom's name was Joy, and the ornament I always place next to mine is an angel I bought for her that had Joy painted on it. When you see it close up, it looks like I am looking at her. I miss my mom.



I chose a guitar for Zac, drums for Nathan, and a pretty girl with a mirror putting on make-up for Amby. It doesn't truly define Amby, but I haven't found the perfect one for her yet.


I like some soft light behind the jars, and this year I have used some cool battery tea lights
that Amby gave me. They add a nice glow.

This project is really fun and easy, and would make a great gift. It is also nice to make them just for your family.