I wanted to make something special, but not too expensive for my 8 year old niece. I thought a journal jar would be a good idea because it would encourage her to write and help to extend her vocabulary.

To make a journal jar you will need

• A jar – if you are making this for a child use a plastic jar
• A notebook – you can choose the type of book to suit the person
• Embellishments and stickers
• Scraps of ribbon
• A pack of gel pens
• A printer
• Good quality printer paper or light weight photo paper
• Scissors
• Lots of imagination!

I wanted to use a plastic jar but I couldn’t find anything suitable, so I bought a jar of sweets at the 99p shop, the sweets were so horrible that they went in the bin, but the jar was just right. I printed the jar label and stuck it on with glue dots, I added a few stickers and ribbon to decorate the jar.

I filled the jar with folded strips of paper, each containing a thought provoking question to prompt the journal writer. I adapted the questions to fit the age and interests of my niece and printed them on photo paper in a clear font with a patterned background, then I cut the questions into strips and folded them in half.

To complete the present I bought some stickers. some glue dot sheets (taken from a larger pack), some scissors, a pack of gel pens and a notebook with coloured pages then I packed them all into a plastic folder. I decorated the front of the notebook and I put some foam stickers in the jar for my niece to decorate the journal.  Most of the items listed were bought from a discount book and stationary store and were not too expensive.

If you have enjoyed reading this article please look out for more of my craft articles

Please take a look atmy other articles in this series.

How to make a Paper Bag Album

How to make a Tag Album

How to make a Photo Box