I am often thinking about how to turn children’s artwork into gifts.
We’re always experimenting with different painting, drawing, coloring, and art techniques. As a result, we end up with a lot of amazing artwork!
We have these neat gallery rails that we display artwork on. I try to regularly send artwork to grandparents and family members. And we use artwork to make birthday and special occasion cards.
But we still end up with lots of art scraps.
Heart Jars as Gifts
I had the idea to use some scrap artwork and recycled glass jars to make heart jars.
If you have young kids, you know that scissors and glue are endlessly entertaining. And as a bonus, they are great for fine motor skills.
So for our heart jars, we drew and cut out heart shapes using scissors (my toddler just cut a lot of little scraps, but she still loved it). We also used a small heart shaped hole punch to make mini hearts.
Then the kids glued their hearts onto the jars with glue sticks.
Next, I used a decoupage finish to seal the hearts onto the jars. Mod Podge would work really well too!
I also added a bit of colorful cording around the top of each jar.
Since I’m always trimming my pothos plants and propagating them in water, I thought it would be fun to put a few cuttings into one of the jars. Surely all the love that went into making the jar will help them grow strong roots.
The small jar looked really sweet with a candle inside. Of course, please be cautious lighting candles around kids and only burn it under supervision.
Our heart jars turned out really sweet. I especially love the way different pieces of the kids artwork came together.
And the decoupage makes the glass look like it’s frosted, so cool!
I’m looking forward to making a few more heart jars with the kids to give as special gifts.
Variations
You could put flowers, candy, special treats, love notes, or a small gift in your heart jar.
These would be a perfect parent or grandparent gift for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day!
And it is fun to adapt this idea for seasons and other holidays. Cut flower shapes, winter snowflakes, pressed flowers or leaves, even geometric shapes or scraps glued on the jars would be fun.
And if you like making gifts, be sure and check out my Tea Calendar post featuring children’s artwork!
Book Recommendation
Speaking of jars, we recently discovered the beautiful book In a Jar by Deborah Marcero.
The story follows a little rabbit named Llewellyn as he collects memories, moments, and magic in jars and shares them with his new friend, Evelyn. When Evelyn moves away, they find a way to share new memories.
We love this story and the illustrations are whimsical and utterly enchanting!
Not to get too deep, but the story also feels like a beautiful metaphor for how bringing mindfulness and a sense of wonder to everything in life makes it easier to experience magic (even if it can’t be contained in a jar).
Check your public library for this gem, or you can order it through Bookshop or Amazon.
What Will You Make?
If you give the heart jar project a try, please share your pictures with us. We’d love to see what you create!
