Handmade change jar: Watch your savings grow! [tutorial]

Watch your Money Grow Change JarEric is really, really good about saving his change. I tend to spend mine, getting way more excited than is warranted when I get to use pennies at the store, whereas he empties his pockets at the end of the day to watch a jar fill up with dimes and quarters.

Not too long ago, the peanut butter jar we’d been using was too full to accept a single more cent. I took it to our credit union—and walked out more than $135 richer.

Saving money change jarAw, yeah.

The problem: I could not go back to using that scuzzy plastic jar. It was dirty, it was ugly and I didn’t want it sitting on our mantle, no matter how much money it held.

So I enlisted Peeper’s help! Together, we made a brand-new/upcycled change jar so we can (ahem) watch our money grow. (Get it?)

Watch your Money Grow Change JarWatch your Money Grow Change JarHere are the instructions so you can make one, too!

Handmade Change Jar

You’ll need:

  • a Mason jar or another upcycled glass jar, with lid
  • acrylic paints and paintbrush
  • newspaper or a crafting tablecloth
  • damp paper towels
  1. Acrylic stains, so cover your work surface with newspaper or something you don’t care about. Take off your little helper’s clothes or dress her in a painting smock.
  2. Paint your helper’s hand green, making sure to cover her whole palm. (Alternately, you can squeeze paint onto a paper plate and stick her palm in it to cover, but I find this a lot messier—plus it gets a ton of excess paint you have to blot off.)
  3. Guide your helper’s hand onto the side of the jar to make the “tree.” Make a whole forest if you like!
  4. Clean up your helper before she gets acrylic all over everything.
  5. Later, paint brown trunks at the base of each hand print and some grass to cover the base of your jar.
  6. Let it dry and start saving!
Watch your Money Grow Change Jar painting
Forgive the crummy photo—I was more concerned with keeping my phone paint-free than with photography!

0 thoughts on “Handmade change jar: Watch your savings grow! [tutorial]

  • July 3, 2015 at 1:06 pm
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    Love this!!! I used to be so much better at saving my pennies and I’m working hard to get back to that. Edith has also taken to saving her err….our pennies she finds around the house… and her teeny bank is full so this would be the perfect project for us to do and jar for her to have. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • July 3, 2015 at 8:41 pm
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      Cute! I love that she’s saving all on her own. Peeper used to love us to dump out a bunch of change that she’d put back in the jar. It’s a good idea to have one for each kiddo to teach them about saving!

      Reply
  • July 3, 2015 at 3:51 pm
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    I LOVE THIS IDEA!! I’m so going to share this! I especially appreciate step 4 — very important!

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    • July 3, 2015 at 8:42 pm
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      So glad you liked it Monica! And yes—working with acrylic and toddlers is risky but necessary for some projects. Precautions must be taken!

      Reply
    • July 3, 2015 at 8:58 pm
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      Thanks Dijana! I agree—something like this can make saving more fun, especially since the jar is clear and you can see it fill up bit by bit!

      Reply
  • July 4, 2015 at 10:22 am
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    What a fun, cute project to do together! I have to admit: we totally re-purpose all of the peanut butter jars for everything: sticker storage, bead storage, pencils – you name it 😉 I can imagine they get pretty gnarly after being stuffed with change, though, and the personalized glass jar is a brilliant alternative!

    Reply
  • July 6, 2015 at 9:31 am
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    I loooooooooove this idea. Not only is it good to do as a project with kids to teach them about the importance of saving money, but I feel like even without kids, you could decorate a jar with artistic flourishes (or whatever you like, really) and just have a beautiful jar to keep all your loose change in. I don’t know why I’ve never thought of this great idea before. Go you! Cheers 🙂

    Reply
    • July 6, 2015 at 11:51 am
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      Thanks Danielle! It’s nice to have something pretty to use instead of our old beat-up jar!

      Reply
  • July 9, 2015 at 7:52 am
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    What an adorable idea! I “save” my change as well. Actually, I donate it. Whenever I have change, I dump it into a mites box and then give it to my Circle at church, which is then sent out to help missions. I should probably pay attention to exactly what missions I’m helping,….hmmm!

    Reply
    • July 9, 2015 at 8:26 am
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      That’s a great way to make giving a part of your routine. After all, we don’t really count change as our money—so we don’t miss it when we give it away!

      Reply

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