I’ve been making an effort to read more backlist titles this year, in part because the number of books that I own and have yet to read is much too high. To motivate me to actually read those titles, I decided to create a TBR jar – and, if I somehow don’t end up using it to pick my next read, it becomes a gorgeous decoration. Win-win!
✨ step one: find a jar
My propensity for mason jars has led some to label me a “hipster” though they have done wonders for the organization of my pantry. And my admittedly large collection came in handy for this – I used a mini jam jar since it a) came with a cute gingham lid and b) meant that I wouldn’t have to fold quite so many pieces of paper.
✨ step two: choose your paper
I purchased a leaflet of lucky star origami paper to make things easy, but regular origami paper or printer paper will also work.
✨ step three: write out your TBR
Write the names of the books on your TBR on the paper you’ve chosen, limiting it to one book per strip of paper.
✨ step four: fold your lucky stars
Lucky stars were my first foray into the world of origami (a world where the crafts are much more difficult than I had expected). I followed this tutorial and, after a few failed attempts, was able to create some pretty cute stars. I also may have hidden all of the imperfect stars toward the centre of the jar so that they weren’t visible from the outside. 😉
✨ step five: add the stars to your jar
I went with colour blocked rows but I’ve seen star jars with the colours all mixed up that looked absolutely beautiful. I also may or may not have made several attempts to form perfectly even rows before giving up and just throwing my stars inside.
✨ step six: when you’re ready to read something new, pick out a star
… and that’s it! I love having origami decorations around my house and this little jar looks like it’ll add some much-needed colour to my bedside table.
How do you choose your next read? Have you made your own TBR jar? Let me know (along with what you think of my origami skills) in the comments below.
Those stars are so cute! I’m not good at Pinterest-y crafts but I might just have to give this a try.
You definitely should – once you get the hang of folding the stars, it’s surprisingly relaxing!