On our trip to Madison, Virginia a few weeks ago, my kids loved playing in the gorgeous stream behind our cabin. The area where the stream was located was so peaceful and tranquil, and every few minutes a butterfly or two would drift along with the water. While the kids played, my mom and dad and I roamed up and down the banks looking for interesting pieces of wood (for my dad, the woodworker) and interesting rocks (for me, for craft projects). Many of the rocks in the stream bed were the prettiest blue color, and I gathered a bunch, along with some stray pieces of birch bark.

On our visit to Feed Store Antiques in downtown Madison, I came across the perfect container for my river rocks:  an antique Mason jar with a zinc lid in a beautiful blue shade.

I washed the rocks, washed out the Mason jar and lid and let everything dry well, then I carefully filled the jar with the river rocks, put the lid on and voila – a gorgeous window decoration with rustic charm that brings back memories of the peaceful stream we discovered on our trip!