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.
For the past 2 years I've done this for co-workers for Christmas. It's a great gift that everyone can enjoy. I did a double chip brownie jar mix and they loved it! Plus it was fun to decorate the jar after it was filled.
ReplyDelete