Mama's Memories Jar

After you reach a certain age, memories of the past seem to be more frequent than before.   I was talking to my sister by way of email the other day about the silly stuff our mother did while we were growing up and how we've started to do some of the same things we thought so comical at the time.  I thought about how wonderful it would be to create a Mama's (that's what we called her) Memories Jar, where, at family gatherings, children and grandchildren would write down what they remembered about growing up, the good times and not so good times.  Things that were instrumental in their lives centered around Mama. Or something that they loved or admired about her. 

This would be a fabulous way to celebrate Mother's Day, especially for the empty nesters, and grandmothers to receive. And also it would be a good way to past down memories from one generation to the next.  The memory jar would remain in the kitchen always so that family members could write down their thoughts and slip them in the jar anytime they visit.

My Mama's Memories Jar was easy to make.  
I used:

• Clear glass container with top
• Printed wording on paper
• Printed flower silhouette
• Sharpie paint pen
• American 3D Gloss Enamel Transparent Glass Writer
• Crafsmart Fine Line Paint Pen
• Alcohol
• Nail Polish Remover 

For the note paper:

• Paper  (cut from inner envelopes)
• Flower Stamp
• Ink Pad

First make sure the glass container is clean and free of any oil or residue by wiping it down with alcohol.

Next, tape the printed wording(made in MS Word - Amazone BT font), in this case, Mama's Memories, to the inside of the glass.

Using the sharpie paint pen, follow the outline of the words. If you make a mistake, use a lightly saturated with nail polish remover (acetone) piece of paper towel to remove and start over.




 

 I messed up the "a" on the end so I
just wiped off the a, ', & s and rewrote them. 


                                       

The sharpie paint marker dries quickly so you can move on to the next part.

 Tape the printed flower silhouette next and again follow the outline of the flower using the 3D (dimensional) enamel transparent glass writer.

Once you have completed outlining the flower, according to the directions on the bottle, you need to wait at least 48 hours for the enamel to dry.

 This was my first time using the American Enamel paint writer on glass and I love the results.  I like it better than the Martha Stewart glass paint.  It flows better and is easier to use.  And it's a little bit cheaper, too. After drying, the paint is raised (dimensional) and transparent, giving off a stain glass effect, which I love.

I also used a crafsmart fine line paint pen to draw the stem and leaves of the flower. 

I thought the glass needed more flowers so I added one in the center, shown later.

Once the enamel transparent glass writer paint is allowed to dry for 48 hours, put the glass container in a non-preheated oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees F.  After 30 minutes, allow the glass to cool with the oven door open. That's it!

So that it would be easy for relatives to write down their thoughts, I cut out (with a paper cutter) note paper using a stack of "inner envelopes" I had accumulated over the years, and made them decorative by stamping a purple flower on the front. 

I think my mama or any mother would have loved receiving something like this for Mother's Day.  Now the whole family can have fun writing, reading and remembering Mama. 

I asked my sister, Sandra, what memories would she write down on the slips.  She brought back silly but wonderful ones -  here's her short list:  cats and dogs mama raised, corn stalks and chickens in the backyard,  Sears/ Montgomery Wards/Avon catalogs she ordered from, Miss Piggy doll and other toys for the dogs, grapevines for wine, and perfume ( anything loud) she wore. 

What a great way to honor the memory of a mother who has passed on. This is truly a thoughtful and sentimental item!

Take a little time to enjoy!