I need to fill some jars (they're bookends) and want some suggestions?

Question

I have two jars that are bookends and they look rather idiotic just sitting there empty- they are glass jars.

Any practical suggestions on what to fill them with? Sand would, but I want to use the jars to store stuff, not sand.

Answer 1

you could fill them with glass pebbles, sea shells, pot pourri, pebbles in earth tones, Jelly beans that you will eat and refill the jar . Or you could paint the jars or even apply a stencil to them to embellish.

Answer 2

shells buttons origami sand my friends cuz once got a jar filled with paper cranes.

Answer 3

babydoll heads, scab collection, movie tickets, love letters, dirt from various places you visit?

Answer 4

different kinds of buttons.i used to have an old blue ball jar that was full of buttons all kinds differents shapes,styles,sizes and colors.very pretty.also seashells

Answer 5

hi i would fill them with declorinated water wait for algae to grow and add an apple snail or freshwater shrimp to each one

you can get this stuff from a petshop

Answer 6

The item that I have seen most often is an assortment of shells, different sizes, shapes, etc., and that looks quite pretty in just about any room.  You could also try going to a craft shop such as Michael's or Gordon's and looking for small items.  I once saw the cutest little tiny wicker baskets at Michaels, complete with handle.  They were in a package of say 10 or 12 and very inexpensive.  You might also look in party supply stores for small trinkets that are given out at birthday parties, etc.  You might stumble upon something quite original.  The usual stuff is shells, marbles, buttons. and coins--all of which look nice.  But if you want something a little different, you might have to scout around.  That could be a fun Sunday project too!

Answer 7

Depends on what room they are in - a rack of pool balls, large rocks, marbles are some quirky suggestions.  

Living room - silk flowers that match the room

Kitchen - different kinds of pasta

bathroom - net scrubbers and soaps

TV room - bags of snack food

craft room - buttons and spools of thread or beads

boys room - base balls

girls room - nail polish or beany babies

Answer 8

You can go with the season.  

Fall put in acorns or squash.  

Winter put in small colorful ornaments.  

Spring put in colored pebbles or flowers.  

Summer put in bright items like colored balls or fruit.

Coordinate with room color or use as accent color.

Answer 9

My mom collected different coloured beach glass...you know those small weathered pieces that wash ashore. It always looked so pretty.

Answer 10

those really pretty stones you use in mancala.. just fill it up with that or use different colors of sand on top of eachother and then make little designs in the by poking little holes in the sand!! good luck

Answer 11

Seashells,buttons,rocks from trips or vacations. Also glass gems-those colored glass pieces found in floral sections to hold stems upright in water-you can get them in craft shops, Walmart etc. That way you could get color in...

Answer 12

Marbles look great as bookends, beans and rice are old favs in the kitchen.Pennies are great and really accumulate fast.

Answer 13

If its book ends, I dont know that you can actually store anything in it without it making it look junky. You need to go more classic. Like someone said up there, buttons,

http://jencaputo.typepad.com/jen_caputo/...

but you also can do marbles  

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2205/2171...

or you can get a set of jars * varying in height * and do coins for an interesting piece

http://pro.corbis.com/images/42-17594320...

fill 1/4th of the jar with little pebbles and put a very small bouquet of silk flowers.. to add a punch of color

like in this picture, top row, middle picture

http://tickledpink.typepad.com/brideblog...

Really, You can put ANYTHING in it.. if you're retro, put old metal bottle caps. Put your remote controls in it. Whatever makes you, you.

Answer 14

Why didn't anyone suggest candles?    [=

You can even pair it with anything, the silk flower idea, potpourri, seashells, marbles, any of the suggestions. Perfect!

Have fun deciding dearie!

Answer 15

Umm you'll prob want something to weigh it down so marbles, or pebbles would work. Not change cause you never know if someone will take the darn thing.

Answer 16

If you are wanting to use them to store stuff and not just look decorative, then practical things would be in order.

One useful item to store in jars is spare change.

You may also want to use one or both jars for elegant pens.

And a bit more creative is using one or both jars to hold your favorite bookmarks (I have a collection of assorted handmade and other unique bookmarks in a jar in my bookshelf, and it's quite attractive).

Answer 17

I like to line glass jars with materials like unique wrapping paper or fabric I like that cordinates with the room using hotglue or even tape and then you can store anything you want in them and nobody can see what is inside.

If you are wanting the contents to be displayed I think match books, marbles, corks, buttons, rocks, coins,etc. looks nice.

Answer 18

What's in the rest of the room?  Will you need to coordinate colors? If not, there's lots of stuff that you can fill them with to add weight and put them to good use:  

Buttons:  How many of those little extra button packages do you have stuck in a drawer?  Empty the packets and fill those jars

Keys:  Label them so you'll remember what they unlock and chunk them in the jar

Seashells:  Remember that day at the beach?  Pencil or magic marker a date inside the shell so you will remember what year and where you picked the shell up and took it home.  

Lozenges:  Don't keep your sore throat meds in the bathroom cabinet, the paper gets stuck to the lozenge.  Store them in your jar.  

Hope this helps!

Answer 19

how about filling them will odds and ends like hairbands nclips   or any spare money you have left over at the end of the week so when the jar gets full empty it and statr agine and have fun spending the money you saved

my son dose this with his pocket money he has left

Answer 20

shells =D

them pretty coloured peppley stone things you can get =D

or like bits of broken different coloured glass. you can amek that easily.

Answer 21

Make some colored sand of different colors..then pour layers of different colors over each other in the jars...Here is a recipe to make your own..

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/sandcra...

Answer 22

Here are a few items to think of:

close pins

pins

jelly beans

coins

pins

thumb tacks

marbles

pebbles

sea shells

candy

book marks

Hope that helps!

Answer 23

You can fill them with your costume jewellery. Long strands of beads and bracelets dangling over the edges could look quite interesting. Bric-a-brac pieces could also go in them if they were only small.

You could put dried flowers or feathers in them. Or you could store stationery items like pens and staplers in them but that would not look very attractive.

Answer 24

ok here is one answere go over to the craft store and get some of those clear glass rocks.I have some that are butterflies they work just great and they look really pretty when the sun shines on them.

Answer 25

IN kitchen:

different beans

pastas

rice

cereal

  

In living room/ bedroom

shells

buttons

pinecones

use as vases for fresh floweres

use as vases for dried or always fresh floweres (silk)

place clear (christmas Light) in with items for lighting

interesting orbs, (christmas glass balls)

marbles

coins

beads

yarn



In bathroom

different soaps

hair clips

cotton balls

potpourri

combs\ brushes

Use your imagination, It can be anything you want to store.

Answer 26

If you want to store stuff in them, what about pencils, pens, magic markers, and letter openers?

If you simply want to decorate, I've seen marbles and glass pebbles strictly for decorating in various department stores.

Answer 27

Shells from the beach.  Marbles from the playground, Condoms for the bedroom,  Buttons, matches,, Q-tips,

Answer 28

I did the same thing in my daughters room and I put colored glass stones in them in the color pink they look really good and I also put a few plastic ladybugs in there also.Hope you like the idea.Good Luck!

Answer 29

Potpouri, marbles, buttons, safety pins, pens, pencils, paper clips, etc

Answer 30

i have never tried this, but at the craft store for like regular glass windows can't you get some kind of faux stained glass window looking sticker/decals.

maybe you could get those and see if they can be cut down to fit inside the jars. then you can spray paint the lids and then if you are using them as book-ends, maybe a good storage place for pens or a small spare flashlight (and a couple extra batteries) depending on how big your jars are, maybe a few small bookmarks would fit inside them that way they can be near the books ?

check out some sites like Crate and Barrell or Pottery barn, or even those sites that sell organization things like the Container store and see how they are promoting their jars and things and what they are using inside them.  Also some Bookshelf sections of sites like JcPenney or things like that help me get ideas on what to do with things.

If they are in a home office, i have an empty Jar I fill with spare change, someone already mentioned that, it was a good idea.  Also if its an office, and you dont want to cover or paint the jars, put things in there you always lose, definitely pens or pencils, i'm always losing my Scissors and paper clips, etc.

they also make these little tea light candles that are battery operated, so you dont have to worry about a "real" flame, you could get a couple of those and put them in the jar, may make it look kind of cool.  not a huge storage solution but may look neat.