Homemade Gifts In A Jar Ideas

Jade's Mending Jar

This is Jade's Mending jar. Jade is my niece who has just left school, aged 16 and is now commuting to college everyday. She is studying to become a veterinary surgeon.

I keep all my glass jars to recycle or make crafts out of and decided that Jade might need some things to help her, seeing as she is a long way from home. I have called it her Mending Jar.

Directions:

Firstly I got a small jar - in this case a Vegemite jar. Took off the label and washed and dried it thoroughly. (I cut off the yellow plastic ring too).

1. Next I inscribed Jade's name on the front with my engraver tool, but you could as easily use stickers.
2. I then used stickers spelling out 'Mending Jar'. A thin strip of lacy material was glued (PVA) around the rim.
3. For the lid I used the glue with thin yellow tissue paper and covered the top and sides - enough to cover the words 'Vegemite'. A strip of lace went round the rim. When this was dry (I left overnight) I super-glued a decorative wooden heart I had in my craft drawer, but you could cut out a person's name or stick just about anything there instead.
4. Inside the lid I used 3 double-sided sticky pads and layered them on top of then pushed and secured 3 drawing pins to it.
5. Then I went off hunting around the house for things that Jade might need to mend things when she was away from home.

Contents of jar:

In Jade's case I found:

• elastic bands
• some coins for the phone wrapped in some pretty paper
• a pipe cleaner
• 2 birthday candles
• a few matches with some strike (I cut from a match box)
• a thimble
• cotton thread
• cello tape
• string
• nail file
• strong ribbon
• small nail clippers
• safety pins
• thin wire and wire ties
• hair clips
• a popper
• two aspirin
• a small pen

I have yet to pop in a needle in a safe housing, some Blu-Tac, and some thin elastic. Oh, and I popped in some jelly beans for a sugar fix!

I am hoping that some of these things may come in handy for her. I also popped a piece of round card in the bottom before putting everything in. This had her name and the number of her house and postcode written so you can see it underneath. In case her bag gets lost.

I think I'll make some for other members of my family and just change the contents to suit each person. This might be especially useful to my four brothers to keep in their cars and work vans. I'll make those ones look more manly though!

I hope you might make your own mending jar. Best wishes.

Source: I had a little mending 'box' when I was a child - I just updated it.

By Monique from Somerset, UK

Inexpensive Gift Jars

I make gift jars and cans. I use empty food jars and coffee cans. Wash them clean and take the labels off and then use recycled wrapping paper to wrap the jar or can. This makes a neat gift jar that can also be made into a potpourri jar.

By Zelora

Gift in a Jar - Food Mixes

Sand Art Brownies

This is a recipe for brownies to give as a Christmas gift . . . . or whenever. Mix ingredients in a wide mouth quart size jar, just like sand art that kids make today.

Add to wide mouth quart jar in this order:

• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 + 1/8 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Chips
• 1/2 cup nuts

This should pack nicely into jar. Include a decorative tag with instructions for making the brownies:

Combine contents of jar with:

• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

Pour into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 27-32 minutes

Spiced Tea

This mix makes a great gift for neighbors, the elderly, school teachers, etc.

• 2 26 oz. Tang
• 1 3 oz. bottle Instant Tea Unsweetened
• 2 8 1/2 oz Red hots
• 1 6 oz. Pkg. Lemonade (Wylers)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 tsp. allspice

Mix all ingredients together well. Put in a sealed container until ready to assemble the gift.

To make individual gift packets: you can put into a small plastic bag, then insert into a small muslin bag, tie with a pretty piece of Christmas fabric. With each gift make sure you add a note that states: One tablespoon + one teaspoon per cup of hot water. I also look for pretty cups and saucers, at garage sales, flea markets, etc. and then you can package with the ingredients.

Hot Chocolate Mix

This mix makes a great gift for neighbors, the elderly, school teachers, etc.

• 3 cups powdered Sugar
• 8 oz. nonfat dry milk
• 1 16 oz. Instant Chocolate Milk (I use Nestle's)
• 1 6 oz Creamora (or any nondairy creamer)

Mix ingredients well and store in air tight container until you're ready to make the individual gift packages.

With each gift add a tag that says: 3 tablespoons per cup of hot water.

This is wonderful hot chocolate, we get raves from it every year from grandchildren. They seem to think this is the Best!

Gourmet Vanilla Sugar

For those who like a little gourmet, but can't afford it, place a dry clean vanilla bean in a mason jar. Cover with sugar. In a few weeks, the sugar will be flavored vanilla.

Note* the bean can be used for years be sure the receiver of this gift understands all they need to do is refill the sugar and shake occasionally for a few weeks.

Home school Mom in Florida

Gifts In Canning Jars

Here are some ideas for making gifts using canning jars. Feel free to post your ideas.

Gifts In Canning Jars

Years ago when we decided to make a 110' x 50' garden and we bought about 20 cases of canning jars. We didn't get what we thought we would from the garden. We didn't realize high mountain growing was so difficult. We have tried every year to make the garden produce mass amounts of veggies to can but have not had too many produce for us. Just enough to get us though the summer.

Since we ended up with so many jars I decided to use them for gifts. I get recipes for cookies, brownies, cakes, chili, or whatever I can find and then put all the dry ingredients into the jar. I then decorate the jar with raffia ties, paint, material, or whatever I can find. Last year I tied bells and candy canes on the outside and gave these as gifts at Christmas.

I love giving gifts and since I'm on a limited budget I can purchase the dry ingredients all year long and be able to make many gifts and always have one handy in case I forget someone. It's lots of fun to come up with ideas to put into the jars. One year I made cookies and candies and gave those. Most jars only end up costing $2 since I always buy in bulk. Hope you have fun!

By RoseMarym

Falling Leaves Jar

Because I have boxes of mason and ball jars, I'm always on the look-out for crafts to make with these. Here is a site I rely on for a few ideas. I'll be making this 'Falling Leaves Jar' to give to my friends. and the best part? It has a recipe for making breakfast bars!

http://splash.homecanning.com/news/fall/falling_leaves_jar.php

By Laurie from NV

Decoarting Jars With Scrapbooking Supplies

Recently I saw in a magazine or online, can't remember where, where they had used canning jars for other gifts as well.

They had taken some of the scrapbooking type of decorations and glued them to the outside of the jar. One picture was of a duck and there was scrapbooking borders glued around the top and bottom of the jar, not covering the place for the jar lid. They filled it with baby washrags, tiny baby toys, etc. and had it decorated for a baby gift.

They had a few other ideas as well. It sure opened my eyes to another use for the canning jar. You could probably go one step further and carefully cut a slit in the top of the lid and they could use it for a piggy bank as well.

By Tawnda

Magic Reindeer Food

I was looking on the internet and i found something so cute for a gift jar! It's called magic reindeer food. Can be used for a great decoration!

You need:

• oatmeal
• sugar
• red or green sugar crystals (used on cakes)
• christmas cloth (for the top of the jar)
• and a sparkle ribbion (for around the jar)

Then layer them. Makes a great holiday gift!

Here's the poem that goes with it:
Sprinkle on the lawn at night
the moon will make it sparkle bright
as Santa's reindeer fly and roam
this will guild them to your home!

ENJOY

By Ashley

Chocolate Chip Cookie Gift Mix

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Place flour mixture in 1 quart jar. Layer remaining ingredients in order listed above. Pressing firmly after each layer. Seal with lid and decorate with fabric and ribbon.

Attach to Jar:

Preheat oven to 375*

Beat 3/4 cup Softened butter, 1 egg and 3/4 tsp. vanilla in large bowl until blended. Add cookie mix and 1/2 c nuts (optional) mix well, breaking up any clumps.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 2 dozen.

By Imaqt1962 from Illinois

Related

• Convenience Mixes
• Gift Mixes

Getting Creative with Gifts in Jars

All year long I look for pretty jars and bottles at flea markets and junk shops for making interesting gifts. I usually don't pay more than $1 for each one, usually a lot less.

Little bottles are great for beads. Put 3 or 4 together and you have a useful, decorative gift that organizes, too -- something the creative type appreciates! Use up some of your extra supplies, like foam stickers and tags for the scrapbooker. Nails and brads and other hardware are great for your man's workshop.

I was lucky enough to find vintage milk bottles from our local dairy that closed down 30 years ago. I filled them with candy, tied on red fabric tops and ribbon, and everyone loved it.

Time To Make:

15 minutes

Level Of Difficulty:

Easy, for anyone, even the grade school set.

Cost:

Usually under $5.

Materials:

• Jars in various sizes, wide mouth are most versatile
• Contents: beads, buttons, foam stickers, candy, shortbread cookies, craft items, hardware items, etc.
• Lid trims: Fabric, doilies, wrapping paper, ribbon, tinsel, holly berries, stickers, etc.

Instructions for the jars shown here:

Button Jar:

Place vintage buttons in small jelly jar with gold lid. Tie on ribbon and gold cord and holly berries. Add Victorian angel sticker, more buttons on top. Other sewing ideas: tiny thred spools, thimbles in a tiny jelly jar, fancy straight pins, etc.

Marker Jar:

Place markers in tall wide mouth jar, top with wrapping paper, stickers, ribbon. Other ideas would be crayons, paint brushes, pencils, erasers, colorful binder clips, tiny paint pots, wrapped squares of clay, etc.

Cocoa Jar:

Layer wrapped starlight mints (to crush over hot cocoa), your favorite cocoa mix in a baggie, and mini marshmallows, also in a baggie, into a vintage wide mouth pint milk bottle. Tie on ribbon, add foam stickers of candy and cocoa mugs. Attach instructions for making one serving.

Bead Jar:

Fill little bottles with tiny beads. Cut a green satin fabric cirlcle to fit top and tie with red cord. Several of these in different sizes make a stunning gift for the crafter.

Sticker Jar:

Place foam stickers (a good way to use up your extra stickers, tags, diecuts, even scraps, etc. from previous projects) in a glass-topped canning jar. Tie on fancy ribbon. Decorate with stickers from jar. Several of these would be fun for the scrapbooker.

The possibilities are endless! Just remember to keep your eyes open from now on for fun jars!

By Cindy Bailey from Waynesburg, PA

By Cindy Bailey