Thursday, June 9, 2011

Father's Day Jar Full of Memories


Father's day is coming up...I lost my dad last year to cancer.  This is my son sitting on the John Deere with my dad when Sam was probably 18 months old.

Here's Dad and I and Sam and Mom about a year and a half before he died. Strange not to have a dad for father's day. 
I wanted to repost this idea for Father's day.  I thought it was a great idea...I have a really large family and most of us kids and most of the grandkids too added pictures or stories or other memory things in the jar I fixed up.  A few of my brothers (maybe all of them, I can't really remember) thought it was too much of a goodbye...so they didn't contribute.  I thought it was a special way to say goodbye that he could look at and maybe enjoy some of the fun stories and photos.  We all knew that he wouldn't be here with us much longer.  My son put a note in the jar that said some thing like this: 
I love you Grandpa.  You are like a father to me. 

So anyway, here's the re-post:
My family is making my dad a jar full of memories for Father's Day....
I decorated a half gallon jar (WalMart for $3) and we are putting letters, notes, photos that represent a good memory or fun time with Dad/Grandpa.
This is how it all started...scrapbooking supplies...I used a friend's Cricut and made the cute little die cuts to decorate paper on all four sides of the jar.The lid was made with letters made from the Cricut and surrounding by rows of tiny dots of acrylic paint. I made lots of rows....
I used designs that reminded me of Dad....and made the tag from scrapbooking paper with a star eyelet holding it all together. I found some tiny cute brown ribbon that seemed to be made for the jar colors.

I had to include the John Deere tractor and the barn too!

Now the best part will be stuffing it full of fun stuff for Dad...
See this post for my personal contribution to dad's jar.

 It would also make a great birthday present or a Mother's Day gift as well.

20 comments:

Lyuba @ Will Cook For Smiles said...

Wow what a great idea! Love it!

Hope you can stop by at http://willcookforsmiles.blogspot.com/

Mimi said...

How wonderful! You are right - these could be used for all kinds of wonderful gifts! Thanks for sharing this sweet repost at Sassy Sites!

Sassy Sites! said...

Cute idea!! I LOVE a "jar full of memories" :)

Sommer said...

Oh so sweet! Great idea. Please stop by and link up to my party this weekend at http://designergarden.blogspot.com/2011/06/vip-party-18.html

Antonella said...

Awe - how cute! Love this idea! You are so creative! Hugs, antonella :-)

Jill said...

Great idea for a father's day gift! They're much harder to 'craft' for than mums!!

Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a great week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

This is such a lovely and meaningful idea!
Would you be willing to post it to our family themed link party ~ Playdate at http://beneaththerowantree.blogspot.com/2011/06/playdate-link-party-in-summer-12.html ?

Cheers,
Lori
COme & Play :: Playdate
www.beneahtherowantree.com

AsylumTanya said...

This is a sweet idea! I am sure dads across the world will thank you for sharing this idea with the bloggosphere! Have a great day!

Unknown said...

Great idea! We're having our very first Father's Day here and can't wait! Hi! I'm your newest follower from the Monday hop. I hope you'll come visit me and follow me back at http://mommychosis.blogspot.com

Thanks and have a wonderful week!

Ginger Snaps said...

So sorry about your dad. Love this idea! I'm following from Fingerprints on the Fridge...would love to have you link this up at my {wow me} wednesday link party going on right now over on my blog. :)

Ginger
gingersnapcrafts.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

My party this week honors fathers and I would love it if you'd share this @ WorkShop Wednesday!

KendasCrafts said...

I'm sorry to hear about your father. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing

Six Sisters said...

What a great idea for Father's Day and to honor your Dad. We found your blog through TT&J and are your newest followers! We would love for you to follow us and check out our blog. We have an awesome giveaway going on right now!

www.sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com

Esther Asbury said...

What a special gift! A real treasure!

Terri @ A Creative Princess said...

That was a beautiful idea and gift. Thank you so much for sharing! I lost my Dad 13 years ago and it still seems like yesterday. Sunday will be hard for all of us that have that loss. I think I'm going to expand your idea and start a jar for my kids and grandchildren when we do something special so they always have it when I'm gone. Sorry for the downer! But thank you so much for the inspiration!!

Unknown said...

What a fabulous idea! I may have to put this one together for my hubby. He will really appreciate it, I'm sure. Thanks for sharing this at For the Kids Friday. So sorry to hear this year will be spent without your dad :(

I will be featuring this post on tonight's For the Kids party post... stop by and grab an A++ button for your blog! Love to have you share again this week!

:)rachel at http://SunScholars.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

That is just so sweet. I really like the lid in particular!! Nice gift. Fathers Day is in two days.......I just had to remind myself....Gotta kick my butt in gear. :-)

Unknown said...

Sorry about your Dad.. he looked like a wonderful man! What a beautiful and sentimental way to remember him and all of the amazing things about him! Thanks for sharing with the Pink Hippo Party.. can't wait to see what you share next week.

Unknown said...

I am so flattered you shared such a wonderful and personal project in the WWWW party. What a wonderful idea to collect memories for someone you love. I'm sure that's a project that you'll cherish forever.
Thank you for linking up. All the best.
Allison

Isabel said...

Ellen, I loved reading about you and your father! I think men like your dad dont fully understand the wonderful influence they have in our lives! He seems like a great man! I came across your blog through skip to my lou! Love the blue chair, and love all the pictures you take of nature and the things that make you happy! Anyways, Im your new follower :).