Thrifty Thursday #2

Millions of Things to do with a Mason Jar

Thanks to Candace for today's idea about how to mason jars.

Lots of people have jars around for canning purposes. You can buy them by the case at Walmart at a very reasonable price. Even those of us who have never canned a vegetable have some hanging around in the dusty dark recesses of the pantry.

Here is a link to the idea that Candace found for using a mason jar without the lid to hold fray check and sewer's aid. It was on Erin Erikson's blog which is a new one to me, but definitely one that I will be checking out soon.

That got me thinking of all of the fun ways that a simple canning jar can be used around the house. I have two that I use to hold buttons. Since I started recycling shirts into quilts, my button jar runneth over. By taking a leftover square of fabric and a bit of extra batting, between the lid and the ring, you can make a happy little pin cushion out of the top. How cute is that? Along the same line, how about making a pin cushion on a jar and then filling it with sewing themed gifts for the favorite quilter in your life? There is room for little scissors a spool of thread and a few decoratively rolled fat quarters.

Every year for Christmas, I get some version of Friendship Soup from my mother-in-law. It usually contains pasta or rice along with beans and seasonings and the directions as to how to cook it. It is a nice way to give a homemade gift that doesn't have to be consumed right away.

Another one that I would love to try, but haven't yet, is cake in a jar. There are two versions. You could put the ingredients for a cake (or brownies or quick breads) into a jar along with the directions as to how to bake it in a regular cake pan. The one that looked highly adorable though, was an already baked cake. Apparently you can put cake batter into a canning jar, and in the process of baking, you can get it to seal. I guess you can do it with or without frosting, but how fun would that be to get or give as a gift?

So thanks again to Candace for the mason jar idea, if you will send me your snail mail, I'll send a thrifty surprise your way. Stay tuned for more ideas coming your way, each and every Thursday.