Thankful Jar

Hi, Sweet Friends,
What is a Thankful Jar?
Well, it is a tradition in our home to take a Mason Jar with the lid and fill it the week before Thanksgiving with thankful messages. 
On Thanksgiving, we take the jar, filled with little pieces of folded papers, with written thanks on them, and read them at the table before our meal begins. We try to keep it to no more than two per person if we have a large crowd. 

This is a quick 30-minute project.

Here is how I do it:

1 piece of double-sided paper (Fall Theme) 12 x 12
1 Mason jar with lid
1 piece of ribbon to make a bow (this one has wire) or enough ribbon to go around the jar top twice.
a pen
scissors
or paper cutter to make
slips of paper cut into small shapes
small flowers
hot glue gun (glue stick)

Directions:

Take the 12 x 12" double-sided Fall paper and fold it in half. and in half again.

Unfold the paper and cut down the long half line. Then cut each piece in half.

 The paper after cutting will be 6 x 6" square.

 Mark off each inch with the pen.

Being careful while using scissors and the paper cutter around children and fur babies.

Cut the 6 x 6" square paper on the 1" marks.

 After cutting all the strips of paper you need for your Thanksgiving Gathering, fold the slips in half.

 This is where contacting your friends is important. See the photo above, I've already written out my two thankful messages.

Here are my messages as examples: "I am so thankful for all my Family, both blood & because. CJ" and "I am EXTREMELY thankful for my Service Animal, Rurik!! CJ"

Fold up the messages and place them in the mason jar. I kept the ring on the jar and removed the sealing ring.

 See all the thankful messages down in the jar ready for our Thanksgiving Gathering!

This ribbon has wire in each edge. Take the top edge and gently start to pull the wire out of the ribbon.

 Flip the ribbon so the second wire (still in the ribbon) is now on top. Slowly pull one end and start to gather the ribbon. Pinch the ribbon end of the wire. Go to the other end of the ribbon and start to gather from this end. When you get it all gathered, place the ribbon on the jar, as shown below. Twist the two ends of the ribbon together. Don't worry that they aren't exactly together yet.

 If you want to just use a ribbon, tie the ribbon in front of the jar in a bow.

 Snip the wires off about 1/2" from the twist and tuck the wire ends under the ribbon.

 I added a little color with these silk hydrangea flowers hot glued in the ribbon. To keep these Thankful messages until next years gathering, just add the sealing lid to the top and close when done.

It is fun to read what everyone was thankful for the previous year.

"My Thankful Jar is ready to travel to our Thanksgiving Gathering this year!" CJD.Sign

During the week before, I ask those attending our Thanksgiving Feast to tell me one or two things they are thankful for. I write down the thanks (each on a separate slip of paper) and write their first name on that slip of paper. I place it, folded in half, in the jar.

If you wish a more manly look, forgo the ribbon. It is still very nice and classic with the Fall paper slips!

I place the jar somewhere on the Thanksgiving Table and the person the jar is set by is the one who starts. Each person takes one/two paper slips out of the jar and reads the thanks and the name. Then the jar is passed to the next person and so on until the jar has been emptied.

So, what is this all about, we could just go around the table and ask everyone what they are thankful for? Well, we have little Grands at the table who get stumped when it is their turn and well, we are sitting there looking at the Turkey dinner and about fainting from the good smells of the feast...so, you choose, the old way or the Thankful Jar.

We like our new tradition!
Enjoy!

The fine print: Please link with love! As with all of our posts, DIY projects featured on Styling With CJD.Sign may not be copied, distributed or reproduced without express written permission.
 
Love and links are always appreciated!

 If you’d like to share this post, please link to this post directly for the DIY tutorial and do not include the instructions in your own post. All photos on this post are by CJD.Sign. Please give credit. Thanks so much!  oxo CJ

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