Sunday, June 17, 2012

Mason Jar Love

This weekend I'm going to a wedding shower and I know that I will be giving the bride and groom money instead of a gift because they are going overseas to teach English shortly after they are married and don't want to have to store a lot of things.  However, I'm just not the type who likes to give money or gift cards without doing something a little creative in the presentation to make it more interesting.  Their wedding is going to be on a farm and the wedding invitations are shaped like the silhouette of a mason jar so I got the idea to do something creative with a mason jar to go along with the cash.  

I love mason jars for their simple shape and humble origins.  They are wonderful link to the kitchens of the past and the hours of labour that went into preserving food for the family. I have many different sizes and shapes of mason jars around the house - some are clear and some are aqua.  I love both, but have a special fondness for the vintage aqua ones. 


When I Googled mason jars for some inspiration, I was impressed with how many different uses people have found for them. It goes without saying that mason jars can be used for canning fruit and vegetables, but you should see all the other ways mason jars can be used - everything from the fairly common to out-of-this-world.



I think we all have used mason jars as vases.  I do it all the time and love the look.  In fact I have some spirea branches in a clear antique mason jar in the middle of our dining room table right now.

sweetstyle

Not only do they make beautiful vases, but they can be used to grow plants in like this wall of herbs,

Not Just a Housewife
or this terrarium.

HGTV

They look gorgeous with candles in them and hung in trees,

Luminaire
or clustered down the middle of a table to light a dinner party.

Apartment Therapy
Mason jars can also be wired and used as chandeliers.

Pottery Barn via Home Stories from A2Z

They are great for storing things in like spices and pantry staples

homedit

or cutlery or almost anything for that matter.

My Union Jack

They can be used as a lunchtime salad container

or for drinks at a party.

Mason jars can be made into useful items like a sewing kit with a pin cushion on the lid,
Real Simple

or a soap dispenser.

Apartment Therapy

Sometimes the mason jars themselves are decorated by spray painting them,


Joy's Hope
or adding chalkboard labels,

Thrift Core
or lace doilies.


Crafts by Amanda


Mason jars are also great for seasonal decorating.  They can be made into snow globes,


Whipper Berry

or used to hold a cookie mix as a gift at Christmastime.


Sense and Simplicity
or turned into Hallowe'en jack-o-lanterns.


Sense and Simplicity


And finally, if you want an other-worldly mason jar experience you can paint the jars with glow-in-the-dark paint dots and feel like you are holding the universe in your hands.


Hobbies on a budget



I'll show you in my next post what I ended up making for the bride and groom using a mason jar - once I have uploaded my photos that is.  

Anyone else love mason jars.  What do you use yours for?

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7 comments:

  1. Loved this post showing so many great uses. I love mason jars and also enjoy collecting them in both aqua and clear. I'm a little bit addicted ;) I use new ones for freezer jam, for freezing soups and stews and for storage of spices and other dry goods. We also use them for office/desk storage, tealights, craft storage and even lamps. You are right that they have so many uses. I think my favourite use is as a vase for flowers though.

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  2. I love them. As a matter of fact, I am painting a vintage Ball jar right now with flowers inside it.....I posted about it a couple of days ago. I have one wash on the canvas, but it will take me several weeks to complete it.

    This post truly inspires me!

    xo,
    RJ

    PS I look forward to seeing your project!

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  3. I like to use mason jars instead of tupperware to store things in the refrigerator and pantry. They look so nice and old-fashioned; I always feel inspired to make my own vinaigrette, say, when I have a nice mason or jam jar to hold it all.

    You've included all the best ideas (in particular, the one with the salad in it - dressing and meat at the bottom (so clever!). Thank you!

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  4. So many creative and practical uses for a simple item. Do you know before I found Blogland, I don't think I had even heard of Mason jars!

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  5. Mason jars are so fun, we actually did a diy tutorial on a fun project. Check out our post about it! (www.how2home.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/diy-flower-pots/)

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  6. Grace this is very nice, thank you for posting this for us all! I love all the countless ideas using mason jars =) I especially really like the idea using mason jars and hanging them in trees, they look beautiful. How were the jars secured?

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  7. Hi Grace, I'm a Mason jar lover too. This was a fun collection of ideas. What a great blog you have here too.

    Warmly, Michelle

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