The "I'm Bored" Jar

We're all guilty of using the phrase, "I'm bored!!" In my experience, boredom usually stems from a lack of disposable funds or having friends with different work schedules. Whatever your situation, this easy craft can help! I call this the "I'm bored" jar.

What you'll Need:
Printer
Paper
The list below
Scissors
A jar of any type for storing (mason, coffee, etc.)
Craft supplies for decorating said jar (mod podge, glitter, etc.)

You can use any type of jar or can for this. I decorated mine to match the color scheme of the room it's in (lame, I know). I wanted the jar to pass as decor, not to look like a misplaced item or eye sore, so I added some fun to it.

First, I found a song I could live with looking at on a daily basis and pasted it into a word document so that no spaces or paragraph lines were visible. Then I printed it out and fit the page around the inside of the jar so that the lyrics would show from the outside. Next, I used mod podge to glue the page all around the inside and let it dry for an hour. The lid looked too boring so I added some glitter (again with mod podge) and let it dry before adding another coat over the top to keep the glitter from spreading all over the place.

Glitter that doesn't spread its herpes!

See how the lyrics serve as a shield to all the folded pieces of paper? ;)

Then I printed out the list and cut each activity into a strip of paper. I folded all the pieces in half and stuffed them into the little jar.

It's like picking out of a hat!

Without further ado, here is the infamous list of things to do without spending money!

Read the archives of your favorite blogs. 

Build a fort.
Make some of your Pinterest pins.
Get creative with your meals: create some fun recipes.
Mend those clothes that need mending.
Have a favorite actor or actress? Check out all of their movies on Netflix!
Use those gift certificates before they expire!
Get organized! Clean up old papers, your computer’s hard drive, and your house.
Organize dishes in the cabinets and the pantry.
Cut your own hair.
Try new hairstyles.
Spa day at home!
Take a picture every hour to document your day.
Write letters: Hello Grandma!
Make gifts! Stock up before the holidays sneak up.
Tackle a nagging task.
De-clutter: sort through closets, beds, and dressers!
Clean your house from top to bottom. Really. Scrub!!!
Clean your car…or watch Netflix....
Come up with new outfit combinations
Potluck!
Rearrange the house or your room.
Volunteer somewhere. (Church, animal shelter, etc.)
Check out free library and community events. 
Sleep-in.
Nap.
Catch up on your reading: read a whole book today.
Go for a run. Or a jog. Or a wog (walk + jog).
Go to the book store and peruse the magazines. 
Call your long-distance relatives.
Organize your photos.
Scrapbook!
Make Cards for every occasion.
Make Cookies.
Update your To-Do List.
Write a book.
Start a blog.
Start a happy book of good memories.
Go on a bike ride.
Hike. The park is calling your name!
Wash all your linens.
Look over your finances.
Figure out your goals.
Write a gratitude list: what are you thankful for?
Have a sleepover!
Have your friends over to just hang out.
Take the bus as an adventure.
Open Mic night: enjoy the talented people in town.

Friday night concerts at the plaza.

Roam the Farmer’s Market.
Free week at a new gym.
Put things on Craigslist that you don’t have a need for.
Do a clothing swap!
Connect with an old friend.
Be anonymously nice: leave encouraging notes on random cars, light posts, etc. 
Visit your local museum.
Play a board game. Better yet, create your own! (post soon to come!)
Alphabetize your books and movies.
Learn to crochet. Try your hand at knitting while you’re at it!
Start quilting those old T-Shirts hiding in your closet…yeah, you!
Do yoga. “Are you doing yoga? I like yoga!”
Start a Family Tree project.
Go swimming. Or floating. Or kayaking.
NERF wars!!
Wander walk. With pepper-spray, of course.
Start a book club. Or that movie club we keep talking about!
Go to a playground. Pretend those are your kids so you don’t seem crazy…
Star gaze.
Re-watch movies that you haven’t seen in a while.
Act out scenes from your favorite movies.
Prank your friends. TP, anyone?
Make your own comic book.
Dress up in costumes and walk around town while pretending like your attire is nothing out of the ordinary. People will stare whether it's Halloween or not.
Fight crime! Use those spidey senses.
Youtube: learn a new dance.
Watch ALL THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS!!!!
Make wings. Learn to fly. (No jumping off of things to test your flying skills…)
Camp in your living room. Pop up that tent!
Learn a new subject online. (ie: criminology, forensic science, etc.)
Water fight! Drop balloons at any passersby.
People watch. (At the mall, the park, downtown…anywhere!) With weird things on your face.
“Entertainment swap.” Swap movies and music with friends for a few days.
Play a game of cards.
Sing everything you say for the entire day.
Shoot hoops at the park.
Give yourself a manicure/pedicure. Just remember these tips...
Try your hand at geocaching.
Midnight float when there’s a full moon. Glowsticks!
Only speak in movie quotes for the whole day.
Got extra streamers laying around? Pay your friend's car a visit.... Caution tape works well, too.

Happy crafting!
xoxo

52 Reasons I Love You

If you're on Pinterest, I'm sure you've seen a bunch of these tutorials by now, but I'm still going to share mine.

Here is the final product!

I made this bad boy about two years ago now - before I even knew about Pinterest! (Did things really exist before Pinterest!!?)
I was looking for a thoughtful, heartfelt gift to give to my boyfriend for our one year "anniversary." I was perusing the Internet looking for a creative spark when I stumbled upon this website: The Dating Divas. They have TONS of crafty gift and date ideas. This is where I originally saw the "52 Reasons" deck. At the time, my boyfriend was learning a bunch of super awesome card tricks so this was perfect! One of their guest bloggers had a great tutorial on how to make it and came with some great tips. I managed to track down that blog thanks to Pinterest! Here is it if you'd like to check it out: Instructions.

What You'll Need:

• A deck of cards
• Hole punch
• Two binder rings
• 52 reasons why you love your boo thang
• Labels (or paper to make your own labels)
•  Optional:
• Brown & White paint to age your cards
• Stickers/gem stones to add throughout the deck
• Photo of the love birds

You'll notice the vintage worn look of the cards in the Papervine blog. I had already bought a regular deck of cards and was eager (more like too impatient) to make it, so I opted out of waiting 7-14 days for an overpriced deck of cards to be delivered. SO, I grabbed some brown and white paint and a few paper towels and started to distress the regular deck of cards to give them that same vintage feel. Here are a couple of close ups of how it turned out:

Here is the inside cover

Here is the back cover.

I mixed the white and brown paint together to make a rusty cream color. Then I painted 3 cards at a time, allowing the paint to dry enough so that it stayed on, but not fully to where it covered the card entirely. Then I wiped each card with a paper towel to get that scratchy aged look. I repeated this on all 54 cards (both Jokers included) and then also did the backs of each card.

Once all the cards were dry, I punch two holes in every card for the binder rings. Then, instead of making my own labels, I decided to buy the $4.99 PDF from the Papervine Shop. Here's a sneak peek of what you get for the $4.99:

Photo Credit: Papervine

I liked the clean look of the font and the scuffed look of the labels that went well with the vintage look I was going for. From here, I wrote down all of my reasons on a piece of paper before writing them on the final product. Once all of the reasons were done, I made sure the cards were in order by "face/suit" and "number." (NOTE: You don't have to do so, that just made the most sense to me). I then glued them all in order and slipped them into the binder clips.

Here are a few photos of the cards with the labels on them:

I LOVE the way this came out. However, now that two years have gone by and I'm blogging about it, I wish I had taken more time to create my own labels and type each reason into the box to get an overall clean look for the project.

Happy crafting!
xoxo