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Young House Love » Crafting & Art » How To Make Labeled Vacation Jars For Your Travel Keepsakes

| By Sherry Petersik | June 11, 2008 | 32 Comments

How To Make Labeled Vacation Jars For Your Travel Keepsakes

Inspiration can come from the strangest places, so I wasn’t even surprised when I saw some cool old canning jars in a recent Pottery Barn catalog and needed to take a closer look. Upon closer inspection I realized they were antique bell jars filled with shells, sand, and even just ocean water with fancy labels that said things like “Mikonos” and “Fiji”. Adorable. So I looked around and realized I had at least one or two keepsakes from each and every vacay that John and I have spent together. Why not put them on display instead of in a box in the closet? So after a trip to Michael’s to pick up 6 canning jars (for just six smackaroos) I returned home and slipped the items into little labeled jars of my own.

Vacationglass1

Now we’re hardly as posh as the imaginary family who loves in the Pottery Barn catalog, so our labels (hand written with a fine point Sharpie on clear tape) boast locales like San Diego, Rehoboth, Madeira Beach, Alaska, and the Outer Banks.

Vacationglass3

But they’re just as charming lined up on a shelf in our sunroom near the back door (which we pass through at least five times a day). And it’s nice to glance at our little vacation time capsules on a daily basis instead of keeping them out of sight (and out of mind). I even made a little reminder of our old life in Manhattan complete with our last MetroCard, a buy-ten-get-one-free hot dog card from our favorite little hole in the wall, and matching business cards from the advertising agency where we met.

Vacationglass2

It’s nice to know that even when we go somewhere sans sand and shells, we can still stick little keepsakes (a ticket stub, a matchbox, a hotel key) into a $1 jar to fondly remember the trip. In fact, to document our Alaskan honeymoon, I used a rock from a hot stone massage that we enjoyed along with a tiny ceramic bear from a craft fair in Anchorage. I can’t wait until our modern day snow globe collection takes over our entire three-tiered bookcase… better start planning some more vacations. And since everyday objects work just as well as shells and sand, it’s no big deal if we don’t make it to Mikonos or Fiji for a while. Whew.

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Filed Under: Crafting & Art, Road Trips & Travel

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Comments

  1. Avatar for KristalKristal says

    June 11, 2008 at 10:10 am

    Love this. Such a cute idea!

    Reply
  2. Avatar for AimeeAimee says

    June 11, 2008 at 10:48 am

    I love that idea! And that office in the Pottery Barn catalog is my dream office. I wish I had that much counter space to do my projects and everything else. I love it all.

    Great way to use what you have to make something fun for your house! :)

    Reply
  3. Avatar for KKKK says

    June 11, 2008 at 11:19 am

    Such a great idea! You never cease to amaze me.

    Wal-Mart sells boxes of canning jars, too. And–as in almost everything at Wal-Mart–they’re cheap!

    We used them for candle holders at our wedding and tied raffia and a rusted metal heart around the top of the jar.

    Reply
  4. Avatar for Maria FeMaria Fe says

    June 11, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    I love it!
    I might just copy this idea!

    Reply
  5. Avatar for ColleenColleen says

    June 11, 2008 at 12:58 pm

    What a wonderful idea. And budget-minded too. I am the type that won’t buy an expensive souvenir, but I do collect hotel card keys, business cards, subway passes, matchbooks, rocks, pieces of driftwood, etc from our trips.

    I really like KK’s comment about using canning jars as decorations at weddings. I just met with our event coordinator at the craft museum we’re getting married at and I want to incorporate that idea into our decorating.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for meganmegan says

    June 11, 2008 at 2:23 pm

    How great! I have mementos from our travels sitting in shoeboxes. Now I know what to do with them! Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Avatar for LivLiv says

    June 11, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    I read my PB catalogue at least twice when it came in. Great ideas. I always forget to think about ways to adapt ideas like that to make sense in my own life. But I love this. When I get my shelves for the new living room, I’m spicing it up with memory jars.

    Reply
  8. Avatar for JulesJules says

    June 11, 2008 at 2:56 pm

    Cute!

    Reply
  9. Avatar for EastEndEastEnd says

    June 11, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    I love this idea. LOVE IT!! And I actually have a few of those old green canning jars.

    Reply
  10. Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

    June 11, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    Yippie skippy. So glad the jar idea was a hit. So simple and so cute. I just love a quick project that doesn’t even call for “painting clothes”, don’t you?

    And Colleen, it’s safe to say that KK had one of the cutest weddings ever (which served as a HUGE inspiration to me when I planned my very own nuptials last year). So get ready for a big 1-year-anniversary wedding post on 7/7/08 detailing a bunch of my very own wedding-related projects and inviting comments about other fun wedding ideas (of which I know KK will have many!). Stay tuned…

    xo,
    Sherry

    Reply
  11. Avatar for ColleenColleen says

    June 11, 2008 at 8:13 pm

    Oh yeah! I can’t wait for the 1-year-anniversary post. And here’s wishing you an early Happy Anniversary!

    Reply
  12. Avatar for KayleneKaylene says

    June 12, 2008 at 9:27 am

    cute! literally putting your memories in a jar :) I have a jar like that but I keep my yankee candle tarts in it.

    and Aimee, if you like the desk and workspace, but not the price, we made our own version of that desk.. you can see it in my blog (click on my name to go there)

    Reply
  13. Avatar for TraciTraci says

    June 17, 2008 at 5:33 am

    I love this idea!! My guy and I are living in Germany right now and each time we travel somewhere, I pick up little matchboxes, hotel & restaurant cards, etc and I’ve been saving them with no idea what I would actually do with them. Now I can make a lovely, inexpensive display of our travels! We also like to save wine corks from special trips, so I can toss those in the jars too. Thanks for so many wonderful ideas. I just love your site.

    Traci

    Reply
  14. Avatar for Marilyn BohnMarilyn Bohn says

    June 27, 2008 at 9:25 am

    How fun is this. Thanks for the ideas. Traci, you can make a cork board for messages and photos also. Just buy a thin cork board and using hot glue, glue your corks to the cork board (they have a narrow frame around them). It is charming. We get a ton of comments on ours.
    Or you can glue them together for a trivet or glue them on a wide picture frame. IKEA has cheap ones that work really well.

    Reply
  15. Avatar for CC says

    July 2, 2008 at 8:28 am

    The best part is that you don’t have to dust your collectables!

    Reply
  16. Avatar for NicoleNicole says

    July 9, 2009 at 9:59 am

    A clean, empty peanut butter jar might be a good alternative for kids if you don’t want to use glass.

    Reply
  17. Avatar for Bradt PhotographyBradt Photography says

    December 15, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    What a great idea for reuse, good for you!

    Reply
  18. Avatar for JeriJeri says

    December 23, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    I use my collection of the old greenish hue’d bell jars to store Oxy Clean in the laundry room and a set of 3 on my kitchen counter for small pastas. Great to make practical storage pretty. LOVE!

    Reply
  19. Avatar for AmandaAmanda says

    May 27, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    I loved this idea so much I decided to do it and post it on my blog. Check it out at http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/young-house-love-inspiration/

    Keep up the great work and good ideas!

    Reply
  20. Avatar for LuzLuz says

    July 8, 2010 at 7:03 am

    Me encanta vuestro blog. Felicidades desde España!

    Reply
  21. Avatar for AA says

    July 9, 2010 at 12:32 am

    Love this. I used those square-ish paper tags on string around the lid of the jar for a label.

    Reply
  22. Avatar for irmairma says

    August 28, 2010 at 12:05 am

    really like the design… potterybarn always make a good concept… and usually they all good

    Reply
  23. Avatar for Annie RAnnie R says

    September 21, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    THANK YOU for the fabulous idea! We recently got married in Mexico (thanks for the great wedding tips too!) and I’ve used our vacation jars to display momentos from our wedding and honeymoon!

    I tried buying canning jars, but they all had fruit patterns on the side. UGH! So, I started saving pasta sauce jars – they work perfectly! I just spray painted the lids so we weren’t advertising our favorite sauce brand!

    I absolutely LOVE your blog (which would be embarrassingly obvious if you saw our home)! Thank you for all the inspiration!

    Reply
  24. Avatar for David ShearnDavid Shearn says

    December 16, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    Hi there. New to your website/blog and I cannot believe the ideas. I am supposed to be working, but have been distracted for almost one hour now. You guys come up with this stuff – so creative. I love it.

    Reply
  25. Avatar for Stephen CarsonStephen Carson says

    June 18, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    Great idea. We’ve got a lot of vacation memories and mementoes boxed or piled in various places. I think the well-lit shelves in our hallway will make a great home for our vacation memory jars. Thank you for the inspiration!

    Reply
  26. Avatar for ElaineElaine says

    September 27, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    Are these still displayed in your new house? I am sure I could scour all the pics to try and find them, but I thought I’d ask first!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      September 27, 2012 at 1:53 pm

      Oh yes they’re in the guest room. You can see them in the most recent video I think.

      xo,
      s

  27. Avatar for MariangelesMariangeles says

    October 1, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    HI Sherry!
    I just pinned this page! I am so excited to have seen this project, I have small bag with ALL the trips that we have taken stocked in a drawer, so I will follow your tips and start our own trip memorabilia lane.

    Thank you!!!

    Reply
  28. Avatar for MariangelesMariangeles says

    October 1, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    Would you post an updated picture of your display, please? :)

    Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      October 1, 2012 at 7:39 pm

      We’ll have to snap a newer shot! Soon I hope!

      xo
      s

  29. Avatar for ChrisChris says

    October 16, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    I saw these today and thought, she stole your idea!
    http://www.marthastewart.com/275300/kids-art-projects/@center/276975/marthas-crafts-kids#/266957

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      October 16, 2012 at 12:49 pm

      Aw, those are so sweet! Gotta love Martha!

      xo
      s

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John and Sherry smiling against pink backgroundHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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