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

Newlyweds

or for drinks at a party.

Helmutwalker Photography

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?