When my family went on vacation this summer I had this project in mind, so I set out to collect some sand and shells from each of the islands we visited and decided to display the collection in these adorable Tim Holtz Mini Mason Jars to create what I like to call a "Scrapbook in a Jar"! It's fun to add photos and any other little memoirs or souvenirs to the jars, too! The jars measure approximately 3.75" tall x 2-3/8" wide at the bottom of the jar.
(All bold products are linked below in the supply section):
General details for the whole project:
I used BasicGrey's South Pacific Collection Pack papers, which includes nine sheets of 12x12 two-sided patterned papers, one sheet of coordinating alphabet stickers and one sheet of coordinating element stickers.
Details for Gallery Block tray:
I used Ranger's Caribbean Coast Dye Ink Pad and a Mini Ink Blending Tool to apply the ink to Cosmo Cricket's wooden 10x10 Gallery Block raised lip and edges, because that's what I had on hand -- but the Caribbean Coast Paint Dabber may be a little easier to apply, I think. The dye ink ends up acting more like a transparent stain than a paint on the wood and I really like that look! Plus, Ranger claims the dye ink is permanent and waterproof, so I thought it would be a good choice for this project.
To soften the color a little and give it a weathered beachy touch, I dabbed on a little Picket Fence Distress Stain and wiped it off/into the wood with a paper towel, so some areas are a little lighter than others.
The Gallery Block has a VERY good, strong adhesive on the edges, that wraps around about 1/4" onto the back of the tray, which makes it very easy to cover with paper, fabric, or even probably burlap or cork! For the floral edges I used the Tahiti patterned paper from the BasicGrey Collection pack:
Above, I added my own X-Press It 1/2-inch High Tack Double-Sided Tissue Tape to hold the Bora Bora patterned paper on the front/inside of the tray.
To finish the back of the tray, I used the Polynesia patterned paper:
Note: There is a hanging hole drilled into the back of the tray, so it can be hung on a wall, if you choose. Since I knew I would be using this as a tray, I just covered the hole with the paper.
Details for each jar:
General: I always struggle with getting paper to adhere to glass and this time I used Glossy Accents to secure the die cuts to the jars and lids ... I don't know why I never thought about trying it before, but it worked great! I printed a few favorite photos from each of these islands approximately 1.75" square and stuck them in the sand, along with some shells from each island.
Each jar lid is wrapped with Lawn Fawn Silver Sparkle Hemp Cord, secured with X-Press It 1/4" High Tack Double-Sided Tissue Tape.
Barbados -- The cute flip flops were die cut from more of the BasicGrey South Pacific papers using Taylored Expressions Flip Flop Garland die set.
The "Barbados" word was created with alpha stickers included in the BasicGrey South Pacific Collection Pack. The lid was cut from some of the leftover paper I used on the Gallery Block background. Inside is a photo of my girls playing in the sand on that beach!
P.S. This was THE prettiest sand of all the beaches we have ever visited ... the softest, finest, whitest sand with beautiful flecks of pink shell in it. I'm SO GLAD we have this reminder and anytime I'm needing a beach fix I can just open the jar and feel a little bit of heaven! Plus, I think it's fun to see how much the sand varies from island to island!
St. Croix -- I die cut more of the BG paper using Taylored Expressions Ray of Sunshine Cutting Plate, cut it in half and adhered only half of it to the jar. I like that it still lets the sand show through. The lid was die cut from a sticker included in the BG Collection Pack and the "St. Croix" word created with more alpha stickers from the pack.
I used a fine 0.03 Black Copic Multiliner to outline the St Croix word stickers, to help them stand out from the tag background. Multiliners make great scrapbook journaling pens, as they are waterproof and archival! Inside the jar is a photo of my husband and girls taking a horseback ride on the beach!
St. Maarten -- The beach scene was created with Taylored Expressions Eventful-Pool Party border die. I die cut a base of it out of Neenah Desert Storm cardstock, then also die cut some of the items from the BG patterned papers and white X-Press It Blending Card (for the chairs), snipped them apart and adhered them to the Desert Storm base. To adhere small intricate die cuts like these, I like to use Copic's X-Press It Glue Marker.
The white chairs were shaded with Copic C1 and the palm tree trunks accented with Copic E42. More alpha stickers from the BG pack were used to create the St. Maarten word.
The buckets of drinks were colored with Copic's new Kirarina WiNK marker pens -- Silver Metallic for the bucket and Dandelion for the bottles. These amazing pens are similar to a paint pen and provide opaque shimmery coverage (even on this kraft paper AND even black paper!) -- the shimmer comes from minute specks of glass, similar to Copic's Atyou Spica Glitter Pens! You will definitely see more in-depth projects from me using these pens!
On the lid is another one of the BG collection pack's stickers -- you may think it's odd to have an airplane associated with a tropical island, but one of the main tourist attractions to St. Maarten is that the airport landing strip starts only a few feet from the edge of the island/beach and you can be standing in the water at the beach, while the airplanes are coming in (very low over your head!) for their landing ... and that is where this sand came from!
The tray can either be used as a backdrop for the jars:
Or as a tray like I showed in the first photo above:
I think I have some room on this tray for more jars from other destinations, don't you?!! :)
I hope you've enjoyed this project and picked up a few good tips along the way that you can use for your own scrapbook in a jar project! ~ Sharon
