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Reusing Glass Jars

July 25, 2007

gift mix in a jarHere are a bunch of creative ways to use recycled glass jars from condiments and other foods.

Craft Storage

If you're a crafter, use them to store your crafting supplies! Be sure to decorate each one. For example, if you're using one to store trim, use a piece of that trim along the rim of the jar. Glass jars also make great recycled gift ideas. Clean the jar very well. Then, fill the jar with the dry ingredients for cookies. Try to layer them neatly - brown sugar packed down, flour, baking soda, etc. Then create a cute gift tag using leftover wrapping paper.
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By Andi

Gifts In A Jar

You can use them for Gifts in a Jar. Fill them with the ingredients to make cookies, brownies, whatever. After you put the lid on it, put a pretty piece of fabric on the lid and secure with a rubber band, followed by matching ribbon. Print mixing/baking instructions on a small card. Trim the card with pinking shears. Using a hole punch, put a hole in an upper corner of the card. Thread this card on the ribbon you are using to cover up the rubber band. If you use a ribbon that is 1/4 to 1/2 wide, you can put a bead of hot glue down the center of it to secure the ribbon to the fabric covered or rubber banded lid. Finish ribbon off with a bow and add a touch of hot glue so it won't come untied.

There are tons of different mix recipes on the crafting sites on the web: find one that you like, make it "yours" and have fun with it!

God Bless

By Sheila Saey

Gift Mix Recipes

Here is the link to ThriftyFun's recipes for gift mixes:

Homemde Hot Cocoa

I use for gifts in a jar. Homemade; hot cocoa with marshmallows, etc. I put a tag on it, top with a fabric round, tied with a ribbon, etc.
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By Keeper

Painting Jars

For jars that have pretty shapes, decorate them with the wonderful glass paints and relief decorative (tubes). The paints can be baked in a regular oven to be permanent. The jars can be filled with potpourri, candles, cotton balls for the bathroom, even cookies. I printed off some ideas for creative writing projects for kids and another for adults. Pulling out one a day and writing on that topic is good exercise for writing skills. Hope this sets people going!

By Barbara

Decoupage Jars

I love to decoupage them. My son and I love making crafts, and use any glass bottles and jars to do this. We just rip or cut out any type of paper (magazine, newspaper, tissue paper, wrapping paper, etc.), into pieces small enough to work with, and cover the clean, dry jar with a thin layer of glue (diluted with water)... then, carefully add each piece of paper, making sure to smooth out all rough areas/or bubbles. Once covered, add another layer of the glue solution over top of the paper pieces.
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Of course, the finished product will not be water soluble, but it can be made so... with a sealer, found in, either, the crafts section or hardward dept. of Walmart or similar store. I have also used fabric to decoupage, with beautiful results! Your imagination is the limit! Then, if you want, you can add candies, small cookies, mixes, trinkets, etc. and give as personal gifts!

By Heather S.

Small Aquariums Or Terrariums

You can use them to have Betas (Siamese Fighting Fish) in since they don't need an air filter; you can use them as pots. Take some small gravel, put in the bottom, fill partway with indoor potting soil, seeds, then fill the rest of the way with potting soil up to 1" from top, screw the lid on until the seeds grow to little plants, take the lid off, put in a baggy to create a green-house effect, then when they're big enough to be out of the bag, take them out. Be sure you label what kind of plant, and date planted. Mostly works for small flowers (African violets, herbs, ect.)
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For The Holidays

If you have a Christmas or Hanukkah party in December, those jars will look absolutely spectacular with lit candles in them, lining the driveway and entrance. I have seen and used them in this fashion and they are breathtaking.

By Margie

Potporri Jars

I fill them with potpourri and as I fill the jar, I use a small stand of 20 clear Christmas lights tucking it around as I fill the jar. When you have it filled you can take a long spoon and space the lights out. Place the cord out the back. Put a rubber band and the rim to hold the cord, then put a doily over the top and tie a ribbon around it . These are great little light and the heat of the lights makes the potpourri smell wonderful! I sell them at craft shows for 20 bucks apiece in a gallon size- now I need more jars having sold over forty !
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By Cindy

Snowman Jars

I make snowman lamps out of old jars and the small white or colored Xmas tree lights, usually the 15 light strands. Clean the outside of the jar with soap and water, rinse and dry with lintless towel. Using paper towel or cosmetic squares, rub alcohol all over the outside of the jar. Let dry naturally.

Do not handle the outside of the jar with bare hands--you may leave oily fingerprints, then paint may not stick. Use disposable rubber type gloves. Put the jar over one hand if mouth is wide enough, otherwise, hold the jar by the top rim. Squeeze some white acrylic paint out onto a paper plate. Dampen a sea/wool sponge and dip into paint. Sponge the paint all over the jar, thin coat. Set aside to let dry. Clean sponge (Actually I do several jars at a time.)

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When jar(s) are dry, sponge another coat of white paint onto entire surface. Dry, clean sponge. Repeat these steps until jar has at least 3 coats of paint. It should not be too opaque that you can't see through the jar, but opaque enough that you can't see the green light strand too clearly.. Let sit to dry for several hours, or overnight. It is not necessary to bake it.

Later, paint 2 smiling eyes on one side 1/3rd of the way down from the top, using an artist brush, round, pointy one and black paint. Under the eyes, paint a pointy carrot with orange paint, and under that, a silly grin with a liner brush. With an old scruffy brush or a stencil brush, paint a light "blush" on each cheek in pink.

When all is good and dry again, brush a clear gloss acrylic sealer over the entire jar. 2 coats are better than one and 3 thin coats are best. While the sealer is drying, insert the Xmas lights, with the cord hanging out the top.

Make a "stocking cap" out of a scrap of fleece, or a brightly colored kid's sock. Put that over the mouth of the jar, arrange "jauntily", and sew or hot glue jingle bell to the very top or end of the "cap". Plug in the lights, and Voila! A Snowman Lamp!

I make these to sell at craft shows and they fly off my shelves. I price them according to size, starting with $3.00 for little guys that I put a battery tealight inside to $6.00 for the mayo jar size. They make great gifts, too, for teachers, nursing home residents, the aunty or uncle who has everything else in the world, mainly everybody. Oh, and if you don't think you can paint the face, you might try looking for those rub on decal faces at your local craft or Michael's store. Have fun!

By Kathi in Beautiful Wisconsin

Editor's Note: Here is a post about inspecting light in glass jars often to minimize any danger.

Decorative And Gift Ideas

Depending on the size of jars, bigger ones add sand or coloured gravel and put a candle in and tie a ribbon around the top, For smaller ones, insert a tea light candle and do the same at the top as bigger one, these make ideal lanterns in the garden on a nice evening.

Another idea is cover the lids with a scrap bit of fabric or parer, stick flower oasis or play clay on inside of the lid and stick in some artificial flowers into the oasis or clay then screw the jar back onto the lid upside down and then you have a nice floral decoration to display.

Kids could also make snow storms, instead of flowers stick a small toy or figure then fill jar with water and glitter. but make sure the lid is screwed back on tightly so there are no leaks when shaken,

Hope you find these suggestions of interest!

By Gillian

Thankful Jar

You can paint them, decoupage them, glue beads on them, pot plants in them, put pretty collections in them, use them to give gifts in instead of a bag, insert a pretty cloth or tissue paper, cover the lid with a corresponding pattern, tie ribbon with gift card and fill with goodies, gifts, small trinkets, gift cards, etc. they are great to individualize for sharing homemade baked goods. Also, I put a thankful jar out and each person writes what they are thankful for and sticks it in the jar, when we are feeling down and out we pull our thankful notes, and feel better immediately. Hope this helps.

By Tinah

Affirmation Gift Jar

I love my jars! I too do bath salts, candy, cookie, cake and bread mixes in the nicer shaped jars for gifts but I mainly use my jars for day to day storage for everything from food staples (beans, rice, cereals, snacks etc.) to nails, nuts, bolts, screws, rubber bands, paper clips, cotton balls, q-tips, SOS pads, etc. I can't even name all the things I have in all my recycled jars. If I know if I want to keep them in view I will either spray paint the lid or cover it with cloth or paper decoupage so it looks a lot more presentable.

One year when I was strapped for money right at my nephews birthday, I got a really nice jar, painted the lid a very neon orange and filled the jar with little strips of a various colors of brightly colored neon paper. The strips of paper were about the size of those you find in fortune cookies and on each one I wrote a message on it for my twelve year old nephew who was going through a rough time and feeling down in the dumps because of his parents divorce. I wrote things like "You're a terrific kid", "Have a great day!" "Hugs and kisses" "You have a wonderful smile" "I love how you are so kind and caring when talking to Mrs. Jones" (our elderly neighbor) etc. I put about fifty of these affirmations in the jar as well as about ten that offered low cost things like "Good for an ice cream cone" or "Good for a hug" or "Good for one movie ticket" etc.

He only got to pull one strip a day and couldn't look through the jar before he pulled a strip of paper. Every day he had something to look forward to and he never knew if it was going to be a "warm fuzzy" or a little "gift". I put a little tag on the jar explaining all of this but I still wasn't very sure how my very materialistic and spoiled nephew would deal with this as a gift for his birthday. I thought he might think it was lame but he LOVED it! At the end of the sixty days, he asked if we could do it again! Who Knew?

Anyway the idea is that you just need to be creative. I have always been a big fan of recycling and I always need things organized so I just combined the two... Hope you got one or two ideas. Happy jar collecting

By Jane

Painted Jars For Cannisters

My family loves kosher dill pickles. We buy them in large gallon jars. I had about 10 of these jars and didn't know what to do with them, until I got an idea. I have a beautiful canister set that I don't use because it is graduated and it doesn't hold enough. I decided to paint my jars to match my kitchen decor. At the time I was into apples. I painted all sorts of apples and the name of each thing I kept in them. We moved into a new house and the kitchen is "purple". At first I hated it. The theme is grapes, fruit and birds. I used nail polish remover to remove the apples. I redid my "canister" set. They are now grapes and birds. I guess if we move again, I can redo them again. I love my canisters.

By Susie from Buckhead, GA

Feel free to post your ideas below.

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26 More Solutions

This page contains the following solutions.

March 31, 2009

I try to store my open bags of peas and beans in a glass tea jar (I use a funnel to get them in). This keeps me from having the beans spill all over my pantry when the rubber band doesn't go on properly.

 
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June 2, 2010

I do not throw away any glass or plastic jars that can be reused. I save the small ones for spices I buy in bulk at the store for a fraction of what they cost in bottles on the shelf. I also use them to store taco mix, gravy mix, beans, etc.

 
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January 23, 2012

I reuse all the glass jars that come into my house. The real small ones are great for extra washers and screws, beads, jewelry holders when traveling (I use small pierced earrings), extra chopped veggies, and so on.

 
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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 433 Posts
March 27, 2012

I had some old jars laying around and put some acyrilic paint in the bottom with a little bit of water and shook them up and then let them sit to dry over night. Now the kids have colourful jars to store pencils, crayons, and scissors.

Painted Jars

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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 433 Posts
May 18, 2012

A pretty way to display your flowers.

Painted Glass Jar Vases

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March 6, 2014

I started buying the Polar fruit jars at Wal Mart. They are the cutest little jars and the fruit is lovely to eat. When the jar is empty, you would not believe the things I use these jars for.

 
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August 25, 2017

For this tip, all you need is a mason jar, its lid, and a piece of fabric. I use fabric samples that aren't too thick, and look cute together. You can put them in your kitchen full of flour or sugar. You could also use them in a craft room full of buttons, or stickers.

Using Mason jars for storing dry goods.

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May 21, 2010

Hi. Sometimes I buy coffee in jars that look like small storage jars. I use lots of spices so I find them very handy to use as spice jars. When they are empty, this is what I do. It saves on money and they hold so much more than the small ones that are sold.

 
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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 969 Posts
April 25, 2018

I was trying to "unclutter" my house and this tip came to mind. When you save jars for crafts or food, save the smaller one inside the larger ones. This saves not only room, but lets you see the smaller one by their labels, should they still be one.

Small recycled glass jars stored inside larger jars in a cupboard.


Bronze Tip Medal for All Time! 51 Tips
January 24, 2012

Decorate an old jar (any kind of container will work!) with scrapbooking paper

Decorated Candy Jar with the words "So Sweet"

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April 22, 2001

After I get done with my spaghetti sauce jars, I clean them and use them for canning. It saves money on buying mason jars. These are the spaghetti sauce jars that are the heavy canning jar type.

 
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June 11, 2005

Recycle your large salsa jars. I use them for my salt, pepper and spices. Just spray paint the lid any color, I use white spray paint then take a nail and hammer in holes on the top of the lid large enough for whatever spice you are putting in them.

 
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March 19, 2010

When you buy restaurant size jars of mayo, salad dressing, hot sausages, pickles or pickled eggs, save the jars and use them to store your bird seed or other pet food. It keeps the mice from being drawn into your house and eating your expensive animal chow.

 
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October 16, 2007

I don't ordinarily save jars, but I've found that the best to save are the Wyler's bouillon jars, nice size, airtight, and the labels easily come off!

 
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April 4, 2005

After pricing drinking glasses in the store, I bought a case of a dozen pint canning jars for about 1/3 the cost. I enjoy the "country" look, and can use the jars next fall to can.

 
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Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 290 Feedbacks
October 8, 2010

Years ago I could buy mayonnaise and salad dressing in quart glass jars. No more, that's a things of the past. I just started making my own homemade mayonnaise with my Vita-Mix and wanted to keep it in a glass jar in my refrigerator.

 
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Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

June 4, 2018

My favorite pasta sauce comes in a mason jar. Well, as you can imagine, I have a lot of jars. I really want to do something with at lease some of them, and would appreciate any suggestions you guys have.

Thanks so much.
Have a blessed day.

Answers


Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts
June 4, 20180 found this helpful
Best Answer

Use them for layered salads you can make several days in advance. Great if you take your lunch to work.

 

Diamond Post Medal for All Time! 1,246 Posts
June 4, 20180 found this helpful
Best Answer

Use them as little herb garden planters. So cute and useful.

 

Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 196 Feedbacks
June 4, 20180 found this helpful
Best Answer

A few years ago, a colleague filled them with microwave cake recipe ingredients (flour, sugar, baking cocoa, and chocolate chips). They were pretty layers. She attached the recipe with a colorful card and fabric cover to lid and gave them as holiday gifts. You have to add milk, egg and oil so that was why the recipe and microwave time to bake. They were pretty and yummy!! I can see if I can find her recipe if you want it! Now I am sad I didn't take a picture of it!

 

Diamond Post Medal for All Time! 1,298 Posts
June 5, 20181 found this helpful
Best Answer

You can do lots with mason jars!

  • Store juices, dried goods, jam
  • As a drinking cup/mug
  • Organizing pens/pencils
  • Storage for yarn, art supplies, etc
  • Lamp base
  • Candle holder
  • Flower vase
  • Photo jar
  • And much more!
 

Gold Feedback Medal for All Time! 949 Feedbacks
June 13, 20180 found this helpful
Best Answer

Uses for mason jars is almost endless but I believe you may be buying Classico 24 ounce so some of the ideas may not work so well with this size jar.

  • I think one of the coolest idea to see lately is the "salad in a jar" and I can see 24 ounce jars being a good size for these.
  • Check some of these recipes/instructions:
  • hurrythefoodup.com/.../
  • Another neat idea is a picture in a jar. I would never do this because it uses a large amount of vegetable oil but still; another idea.
  • augandeverythingafter.blogspot.com/search?q=mason+jars
  • I have used a similar idea with thin noodles but this is a good idea also - almost instant meal, packed and ready in minutes.
  • thegirlonbloor.com/.../
  • I'm not sure but I believe that Classico may be the only company using true mason jars and their sauce is very good - so good food with a bonus.
  • They now make all kinds of lids for the regular mouth jars (I like the newer solid one piece lids) but the neat one has a hole in the top for straws (or).
  • www.amazon.com/.../ref=sr_1_37?ie=UTF8&qid=1528928055... (Affiliate Link)
 
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April 6, 2009

I have about 20 or more little 2 oz. glass jars with lids. Seems a shame to throw them out. Any ideas what to do with them? Thanks!

By sue from Virginia

Answers

April 6, 20090 found this helpful

Are they the size of baby food jars? If so, I use them to save misc. nails, screws, washers, etc. My great uncle did the same, but he actually screwed the lids onto a board above his work table and then screwed the jars on so they were hanging rather then taking space on his work table. My sister used them to store her herbs.

 
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September 20, 2016

This is a page about removing odors from glass jars. Although glass containers typically do not retain odors as much as plastic, sometimes it can still be difficult to remove a persistent odor.

Removing Odors from Glass Jars

May 17, 2017

Add pretty beads to the lid of a jar and create an lovely gift jar. This is a page about beaded lid upcycled gift jars.

Two jars with finished lids, motifs, and beads.

May 22, 2017

Glass jars come in all shapes and sizes. Their usefulness for crafts and organizing is almost endless. This is a page about crafts using recycled glass jars.

Crafts Using Recycled Glass Jars

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