Recycled Glass Jar Advent Calendar

I have so much to share with you today PLUS a giveaway for $155 Amazon Gift Card.  So be sure to stick around all the way until the end to find the entries for your chances to win!

So let's get to my Silhouette project, first! 

I have this obsession for collecting empty jars from spaghetti sauce, sauerkraut, salsa, you name it!  Not often, but every once in a while, I come up with a use for these jars collecting in the bottom of my craft closet.  I used silver spray paint to give all of my clear jars a coat of color and left my perrier sparkling water bottles green.

Once dry, I simply cut out different sized numbers out of Silhouette Vinyl with my "magical machine" to turn ordinary glass jars into an Advent Calendar!

Each day, the kiddos are so excited to find what I was able to tuck inside each jar. My little monsters are still young (three and a half & one and a half) so I basically just replaced one of their special "snacks" they may receive during the day and plopped it into a jar.  I'm not against candy, but even one piece of candy for the next 25 days adds up...

Some ideas for Advent treats to stuff inside (that's not chocolate):

• Mini Raisin Boxes
• Granola Bars
• Baby Food Pouches
• Fruit Snacks
• Yogurt Covered Dried Fruit Snacks
• Clif Kid Fruit Rope
• Annie's Bunny Graham Friends
• or any other single-serve snack!

For the days that are "flower vases" I like to do a larger surprise that I keep on hand like a oatmeal raisin cookie or let them have their favorite lunch.

So far, it has been a lot of fun and definitely a statement piece in our kitchen that makes me smile because I finally found a unique use for my recycled jars!

If you're looking for more creative Silhouette projects (and I know that you are!), check out these amazing ideas below in this beautiful collage for your convenience.  Be sure to leave them some comment love and have fun discovering some new (to you) blogs!

1. 2013 Snowman Christmas Card by Please Excuse My Craftermath...
2. Christmas Hoop Art by Lil' Mrs. Tori
3. Silhouette Nativity Advent Candle Box by One Tough Mother
4. Christmas Party Photo Booth Props by unOriginal Mom
5. Another Stenciled Tea Towel by Cutesy Crafts
6. Silhouette Gift Tags by Rain on a Tin Roof
7. Snowflake Pin / Ornament by Coley's Corner
8. State Sign Couple Gift by It Happens in a Blink
9. Mason Jar Christmas Ornaments by Vintage News Junkie
10. Merry Christmas Wall Decor by One Artsy Mama
11. Deer Head Holiday Banner...featuring Santa's Reindeer by The Thinking Closet
12. Restore your UGGS (with PAINT) by From Wine to Whine
13. Monogrammed Snowflake Ornaments by Architecture of a Mom
14. Christmas Countdown Sign by The Girl Creative
15. Elf Chalk Sign: "The Best Way to Spread Christmas" by Weekend Craft
16. Glittery Christmas Subway Art by The Turquoise Home
17. Sketch Pen Labels by Sowdering About in Seattle
18. Snowflake NOEL Sign by My Favorite Finds
19. DIY Holiday Hostess Gift by Everyday Paper
20. Folding Nativity Backdrop by Chicken Scratch NY
21. Recycled Glass Jar Advent Calendar by Nearly Handmade
22. Reindeer Card: Double-Sided Print & Cut by GetSilvered
23. Personalized Block Ornament by Suburble
24. Paper Medallion Christmas Tree by Create & Babble
25. Mini Mid-Century Homes by Tried & True
26. Glitter and Vinyl Minecraft Christmas Ornament by A Tossed Salad Life
27. DIY Countdown to Christmas Refrigerator Style by My Paper Craze
28. Reversible Recipe Holder/Block Frame by The Sensory Emporium
29. DIY: Lettered Christmas Pillows by The House on Hillbrook
30. Simply Charming Christmas Ornaments by Life After Laundry
31. No Glitter was Worn by GiveMeAPaintbrush
32. Make Easy Ornaments from Paper Circles by Bringing Creativity to Life
33. Cutting Machine Embroidery Applique by Terri Johnson Creates
34. "Believe" Christmas Banner by Daily Dwelling
35. DIY Christmas Nativity Card by Pitter and Glink

Looking for Silhouette inspiration, support, trouble-shooting? Interested in joining us for our group posting event next month? Then, we'd love to have you join our Silhouette Challenge Facebook group. To join, simply fill out the new member request form, and Lauren from The Thinking Closet will get you squared away.

Are you still with me after all of that information? I sure hope so because we have a great giveaway for you!  Starting today, December 9th, until December 16th, we are hosting a giveaway for a $155 Amazon Gift Card!  Yup!  $155 that you could spend toward a Silhouette machine of your very own or even some fancy new supplies.  Just in time for Santa to deliver a little special something... just for you!

A few details:

• Giveaway runs from Monday, December 9th until Monday, December 16th at 11:59pm EST.
• You must be 18 years or older to enter and this giveaway IS international so everyone can play along!
• You have 31 possible entries so if you complete all of them, so that's a lot of potential winning power!
• The winner will be contacted by Lauren from The Thinking Closet by email and you will have 48 hour to respond.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck and have a wonderful week!

Janice

Makeshift Vases

I collect jars.  It's been a problem for several years now.  Mustard, jelly, pickles, olives, salsa, sour kraut, salad dressing... any glass jar.  Well, every once in a while, I drag them all out and come up with something to do with them.  I mentioned that I planned on using all of these spray painted jars on my new mantel display that you can see in the background.  It didn't quite work the way I expected so I had to come up with another way to use them.  I collected them onto a circular planter tray, added a few flowers, & I'm instantly pleased!  I'm so happy I didn't have to pack them away again!

Does anyone else have bizarre collections that you don't know why you're collecting them and don't know what to do with them?  Do you have a great idea for jars?  You know I have plenty!

-Janice

Remember Those Chairs?

Well, just to refresh your memory, our neighbor found these wonderful little folding chairs for our kiddos!  How sweet was that?  Well, the chairs were in pretty good shape, but purple just wasn't our thing.  So what's a mom to do?!

Say it or Spray it!

It was spray painting day around here.  I try to group some of my projects together.  It not only keeps me on task better, but reduces the prep and clean up time, too!

Lots of projects getting started around here which means a few more crafty type blog posts to come!  I just wish there were more hours in the day!

Easter Egg Garland

I wanted to make something for the dining room for Easter.  I already had a ton of plastic eggs that I didn't really have a plan for yet.  Then, I saw a simple egg garland from a cute blog called Atkinson Drive.

Turning a Picture Frame into a Chalkboard

I feel silly even calling this a tutorial.  It's not really.  I had this old picture & frame that I purchased on clearance at Ikea about 4 years ago.  It has been sitting in the basement with no purpose or home since we moved to this home so I finally decided to put it to work! Can you guess what I'm going to do?  Yup!  I tried to tell you that it wasn't much of a tutorial!

First, you'll want to take apart the picture frame.  You can set that aside. I happened to like the black frame (for now) but if you wanted to change it up, you could easily put a few very thin, even coats of whatever color tickles your fancy.