January 21, 2013

Valentine's Sneak Peek

Later this week I'll be posting my ideas for a Valentine's Day care package, but I wanted to give you a sneak preview of my Happy Jar!


The Happy Jar is pretty self-explanatory (especially if you read my poem, ha! No judging my rhyming abilities though, ok?).

I think this is a great thing for deployment, but it can also be fun even when your spouse is safe at home with you. I LOVE the idea of keeping one of these on my counter, for whenever one of us has a bad day.

The idea is to fill the jar with little notes which will lift the spirits of the reader, or make them smile. But don't let that restrict you! You could print tiny pictures of yourself or your kids. You could write out knock-knock jokes. You could cut the comics from your Sunday paper and use those. Whatever makes you HAPPY.

Because that's the name of the jar, yes?

And now I'll make you happy by telling you how to make your own! I bought this jar at my local Walmart...


... for around $3. BARGAIN!

I wrote all my notes on basic card stock, but plain white paper works just as well. I just happened to have the card stock leftover from another project. Also a bargain!


The hardest part of this project was thinking of all the things to write, seriously. It's not as easy as it sounds. I finally realized the best way was to write a little each day. The whole jar took about a week or so for me to fill.

Once full, I peeled off the label and added my own. Feel free to use mine if you like! I've included the PDF here. Keep in mind, you might need to resize the poem to fit your jar if you're using a different size.

And viola! A simple, inexpensive (and romantic!) gift that your spouse can enjoy everyday.

If you're like me and have trouble coming up with things to say, try out some of these ideas in your own jar: 

1. I love you because           (fill in the blank)         

2. I can't wait until               (fill in the blank)

3. Comics from your local paper

4. Bible verses

5. Inspirational quotes (Google is a great tool for this one!)

6. Small photos (printed on plain paper) of you, the kids, family, friends

7. Notes from other family members

8. Knock-knock jokes (or other regular jokes)

9. Favorite memories, vacations, etc.

10. Love notes. For example: No matter how far apart we may be, you are always in my heart. 


Above all else, fill your jar with HAPPY!!

Happy creating, my friends... the rest of the Valentine's Day post will be here at the end of the week!





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15 comments:

  1. ahh! I LOVE THIS! Thank you so much for the great idea, my soldier will definitely be getting a happy jar!

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    1. Yay!! I love that someone else will be using the idea. And it was so much fun to make! It actually helped me get rid of some deployment blues to think of all those memories and start a list of the new ones I couldn't wait to make

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    2. I even opened it up to all of his friends & family, this way everyone can put notes in the jar so he'll never know what it'll say! (plus his friends are hilarious and i know they'll come up with great things) thanks again!

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    3. Que bien, si en la vida cada día debe ser especial, y hacer feliz a nuestro conyuge a través de estos, es una gran idea.

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  2. What a cool idea! Nice post, Allie :)

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  3. Found this on Pinterest and will be using this as a Mother's Day gift for my mom :) It's always been just me and her growing up but I moved far away which is hard on her. I think this is the perfect gift. Thank you for the idea!!

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    1. I'm sure your mom will love this! I have a friend who made one for her mom as well, and it was a huge hit :) It takes some time to make, but it's so worth it

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  4. Great idea!. I'd like to make one for each daughter.They keep things to themselves so any time they need a laugh or encouragement they will each have their own special jar.

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  5. Thinking about my boys in College!

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  6. Great idea!! I'll be using this one. Thank you for sharing. And a special thank you to your husband for his service and to you for your sacrifice. Blessings to you and your family.

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  7. Another thing you could do is to photocopy a letter he wrote to you and cut out the one sentence that made you melt and write on the paper "Because you said this to me".

    Love the idea. You can find these jars in the recycles if you are extremely frugal.

    Maureen

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  8. Muy hermosa la idea, felicidades! creo que utilizaré este para el día de la amistad.

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  9. I see this is a few years old, but I loved the idea and just made one for my long distance friend who is fighting cancer. I made teeny envelopes to put in the jar and in each one is an inspirational message!

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  10. My daughter will be leaving for the Army soon, I will use this when she is stationed far away.

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