Repurposed Baby Food Jars

We're going through lots of baby food jars over here and I hate to just recycle such nice glass jars. I've been hanging on to them for a few months now, debating what to use them for.

When I hosted a baby shower in February I thought it would be cute to use them as vases and line a few down the middle of my table with a gerbera daisy in each one. (Whoops, I forgot to do that!)

Anyway, I've decided to use them for end-of-the-year teacher gifts. But, first, I wanted to pretty them up.

What you'll need:

glass jars and lids
Goo Gone
decorative paper
ribbon in a coordinating color
scissors
multipurpose craft glue (I like Aleene's Tacky glue)
thin paintbrush, for applying the glue
decoupage sealer (I used Aleene's Collage Pauge--Glossy)
foam brush, for applying the decoupage

What to do:

1. Wash jars and lids, removing any labels or stickers
2. If necessary, use Goo Gone to remove adhesive residue
3. With a pencil, trace the lid on the back of your decorative paper
4. Cut out
5. Apply thin layer of glue to top of lid and spread evenly with paintbrush; press and hold paper to lid for a few seconds
6. Cut length of ribbon to fit around side of lid; apply glue to lid; press and hold
7. Let glue set for at least several hours or overnight
8. Apply decoupage sealer with foam brush, lightly coating the edges and top of lid
9. Let dry overnight

And now to fill them!

J and I had fun making a homemade sugar scrub for his teachers. Here's the recipe we used:

1 c. sugar
5 T. olive oil
Squirt clear dishsoap
6 drops favorite essential oil

Once the ingredients were combined, I found that I needed to add another tablespoon or two of olive oil to get a moist enough consistency. I tripled the recipe and it filled 4 baby food jars.

Then I created a label in Word and printed it out on clear adhesive-backed paper. Without the label, I think these would look cute with a piece of twine tied around the neck and a gift tag dangling down.

For the teacher gifts, I'm pairing this with another little gift, which I'll try to post about later. For now, enjoy these last few days of school!

That's a Wrap!

The gift-giving season will soon be upon us. I'm already doing quite well on my shopping, thank you very much! I always like to tackle a crafty project to give as gifts and I have some fun ideas on that this year. Hopefully, things will go as planned and I can share that as well.

But for now, I'll share a gift wrap idea that my friend Margaret gave me:

Reuse your child's artwork!

I love this idea for so many reasons:

No guilt about throwing away the multitude of paintings and drawings that we don't have room to keep.*

By not purchasing wrapping paper, I'll save money.

It's an opportunity to reduce and reuse.

It adds a personal touch to a gift.

And, it's a special way to showcase your little artist's work. He or she will be thanked for the present and complimented on its one-of-a-kind wrapping!

~~~

*Of course I'll keep the really special ones. :) I've also been religiously photographing the art creations J brings home from preschool. At the end of the school year, I'll create a Shutterfly book of them as a keepsake.

Books NOT Read...

So, bed rest has given me a slight opportunity to catch up on some starred Twitter posts and blog posts. @bostonbibliophl recently tweeted a post that caught my eye--What books have you NOT read this year? Despite our best intentions, despite the hype and great recommendations that many books get, I think we all end the year not having read a book or two that we thought we would. And, as someone who loves to gift books, what a great way to get some gift ideas. Check out the discussion she generated at her blog, Boston Bibliophile.

It struck me that this year-end topic could be adapted to a little meme, and with a to-read list as long as mine I've definitely got some material! I'm going to focus my list on books I did not read just for lack of time. These aren't books I've changed my mind about or books I started and didn't finish. I do hope to get to them next year!

First up, and probably the most popular response on @bostonbibliophl's post is:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

A few others:

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

And, for readers young and old, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Please share your Have-Reads and Have-Not-Reads!

lovey-dovey

A few things here that make me smile and feel all ooey-gooey, lovey-dovey. Both because they'd make adorable Valentine's gifts and because they're helping to cheer me up this week with their happy loved-themed prettiness.

So, Valentine's Day is always about the sweets, particularly chocolate, right? Who wouldn't fall head over heels for some homemade treats rather than the heart-shaped box of mystery chocolates that you can pick up anywhere?

Pretty & delicious vegantine cupcakes from the cupcake mint

Or

peanut butter chocolate chip cookie heaven cookies from pattycake vegan bakery

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L O V E alphabet boxes from A Little Hut

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For a long-distance Valentine...

by Ms. Starry Art

~~

And, of course, I can't post about Valentine's Day without mention of jewelry

I love this beaded heart ring from Natasha Kahn Designs for its simplicity and femininity

~~

A Very Special Valentine

I think there's some connection between being a mother of a toddler and getting crazily excited and decked out for holidays...

This year, I'm really feeling the love as Valentine's Day approaches. J and I decorated the sliding glass doors with vinyl cling hearts. I purchased a cutesy love birds hangy-decoration-thingy for the front door. I've been scouring books and web sites looking for Valentine's Day crafts. I bought pink muffin cup papers and 5 mini jars of pink, red, heart-themed sprinkles in the anticipation of baking some heart-shaped cutouts! (I even caught myself looking at pink and red bejeweled socks in the dollar bins at Target, but snapped out of that one very quickly.)

All this, and it's only February 1st!!!!

With all these ideas and preparations underway, I thought I'd best get a move on with a Valentine gift or two. The always-up-to-something-cute Jessi at everyday studios posted the cutest, most perfect, most inspiring gift idea -- a love-themed photo book from Shutterfly. As I clicked through the pics of her adorable boys, I knew a book like this would be treasured by J's grandparents. So, I spent a couple hours working on one of our own tonight while J slept and C watched the Superbowl, and here's the finished product:



View Project at Shutterfly

Etsy Artists + YouTube = A New Favorite

Once again, Twitter has clued me into something I never would have wanted to miss. Yesterday I saw a tweet from Etsy complimenting littlebrownpen's YouTube video. Curious, I clicked on over to check it out. Here is what I found:

Isn't that just the coolest? I'm such a fan of stop motion animation and I hope someday I'll have the patience and creativity to attempt one. (And, the music is totally rockin'. I'm going to have to find that on iTunes.)

Aside from how amazing the video is, aren't the cards, calendars and gift tags just adorable? This morning I logged on to the Etsy shop and purchased the 2009 calendar. Within 2 hours, I was printing them out and totally loving them. Little Brown Pen emails you a PDF file of whatever it is you purchase. Then, you print as many as you like and can go back and access the file anytime for more! It's an impressive and inspiring concept; one that's economical, innovative, and environmentally-friendly. Bravo, Little Brown Pen! And thank you.

the year of the book and another favorite thing

Books are always a big part of the gift-giving I do, and this Christmas is no different, although I think it's a little heavier on the book side than most years. I am really excited though because I got some wonderful titles that I think will really match up with the recipients' personalities.

A HUGE Amazon shipment arrived today, which is another of my favorite things! What is it about the delayed gratification of making online purchases that I just love? Plus, most of the time I forget half of what I ordered so it's like opening up a surprise. :)

So, combined with what I bought at Barnes & Noble last week, I've got an incredible set of books to gift this year. And, with Christmas still a month away, there's a good chance I'll add a few more books to the pile before the big day. Two others that I'm thinking may be just too good not to own are Fifteen Animals by Sandra Boynton and Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea.

What books are going to be part of your gift-giving this year? What are some titles on your own wish list?

these are a few of my favorite things...

At the risk of coming across as self-important and snooty or sounding like Oprah or Martha Stewart, I've decided to go ahead with a blog series called 'My Favorite Things'. I think it could be fun, and maybe it will help some of you while searching for the perfect gift this holiday season. I'll post a handful of things and then continue the series a little on down the road with some fresh new favorites.

And, please feel free to add links or post comments about your favorite things.

1. Great Harvest bread - especially the cinnamon chip. The principal at my husband's school usually gives a loaf to all the teachers at Christmas and Easter, which I think is a nice tradition.








2. Elizabeth Mitchell's cd You Are My Little Bird - beautiful folky music that makes me imagine it's Spring.








3. Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks - I love double-duty products!








4. Aveda Hand Relief Lotion - Aveda's signature scent combined with the most amazing moisturizer.








5. Shopping for Christmas ornaments and handmade gifts at Columbus' annual Winterfair.








6. Charley Harper's Birds and Words - Intricate and intriguing art as well as funny, tongue-in-cheek descriptions of various birds. Great addition to the library of an artist or naturalist.








7. Life is Good tote - Fun and functional!