A jar for your flowers...and memories

Do you have dried flowers from a special event that you want to remember like a wedding, party, or prom?

Maybe you're tired of the tedious process of cleaning the dust off of your dried flower displays. Or you have a variety of items that you want to show off.

Whatever the reason, today I have a solution:

Make a memory jar!

Pictured are some of the flowers from my wedding bouquet in a 48 ounce square jar

Memory jars are similar to shadow boxes or dioramas and add an interesting visual element to any display. You can embellish the outside of the jar as I did, or leave it plain so that focus remains on the contents. 

The nice thing about memory jars is that they are as diverse as the contents inside them. 

These days you can find just about any shape or sized jar you need for a decent price. There are also durable plastic containers that would work well, too. And hit up a yard sale or thrift store for an even better deal on jars for displaying your memories.

If you look closely at the pictures of my memory jar, you will see that the flowers inside it have a shine to them. The shine is caused by a sealant that I dipped the flowers in before placing them into the jar. The sealant step is not necessary, but I am hoping that it will add to the life of the display. I've already noticed that the flowers are more sturdy and less prone to breaking/flaking now that they've been sealed.

If you're going to use sealant for your flowers, the time to create this will increase substantially. Sealing the flowers isn't a long process, but waiting for them to dry is! Also, make sure you have a well ventilated area set up. The sealant reaks! Thought I should mention that since I'm talking about the pros of using the sealant.

So are you anxious to make one of your own? Well, you're in luck!

How to Make a Memory Jar

 There are an endless amount of variations to the memory jar and how you can make it, but here's a basic how-to to get you started.  

Materials Needed:
  Dried flowers, knick knacks, other items you want to save
  Jar with lid
  Ribbon, beads, other embellishments for outside of the jar
  Marbles
  Glue

**If you are using a sealant on your flowers then you will also need a block of florist's foam, floral picks, newspaper, and latex gloves.**

Directions:

1. Seal the flowers using the directions on your sealant's package. Allow to dry for at least 6 hours.
2. Rinse out the jar with warm water. 
3. Pour the marbles into the bottom and put the embellishments on the outside of the jar. Let stand to dry.
4. Arrange flowers and knick knacks inside the jar.
5. Put the lid on the jar and enjoy your beautiful display!

There you have it. Just as simple as that. You can make this as simple or elaborate as you like.

I only have one request:
If you try this project, please please please please please send me pictures! I want to see the lovelies you create!