Thursday, December 1, 2011

My "Whatever Jars"


I am a helter skelter kinda crafter. I jump from craft to craft,before ever finishing any one thing. I can always go back and work on any craft that is unfinished,if I so desire. If I don't go back to it, then it's not my kind of craft anyway.If it doesn't hold my interest long enough to finish it, or at least come back to it, it's not worth my time to continue on with it.I'm off to something else.Some crafts keep me so interested, I wake up at 3 in the morning,dying to get to them. Those are the ones I really like. This one little project I have found, interests me to no end. I love,love,love it. As you can see by one of the above pictures, I have been working at a few different things. I love working with wood, fabric, paint,stenciling,and now making labels and tags from scraps of paper. The fact that they are so pretty and appealing to me, and cost nothing to make,really excites me.I am guilty of being extremely frugal or to put it plain and simple,a tight-wad, when it comes to spending on craft supplies. The label and name tag project has consumed me lately. I visit the consignment shops and find the Primitive decor to be more and more appealing,especially when it comes to my crafting.The grungy look,especially, seems to come easier for me to replicate.

For this particular project, I am using pretty little jars that would otherwise be recycled,at least, that's what I would do with them if I found no other use for them.Jars are a weakness of mine, too.Especially, little jars, and reusable jars. Some jars have those twist on lids, and even those can be used in gift giving. There are lots of dry mixes that do not require being sealed when given as a gift to be used right away. I have a few books on those types of gift mixes.Now back to my labels and tags for the cute little jars.(The little wooden plaque was replicated from a tea towel I purchased just for a pattern.)

I collect brown paper(and lots of other pretty papers)for use in my tag making. The brown paper that comes as packing in the mail,(Thanks,BJ)the lining of the sugar bag.There are many ways in which brown paper comes into my home.Then I gather up small pieces of pretty colored  fabric or paper that is too small to be used for anything else.I cut the brown paper label a bit larger than the colored piece of material being used. I cutesy up the two pieces by trimming the corners of both pieces(unless you prefer the plain squared off corners).Then I apply a drop or two of glue to secure the 2 pieces together.I use my hole punch to make the hole for the ribbon.When I am ready to apply the name or directions to the label, I go into WordPad and type up my wording in a cute font and color,and make the words as small as possible in order to fit on the label.You can usually make a whole page of usable wording for later use, so as not to waste too much paper by just printing out one word or two.
For the decorative band around the little jar,I cut a long narrow strip of brown paper, just long enough to fit around the jar and overlap about  1/2 inch so as to be glued later. I use my hole punch and punch holes along the brown paper strip for weaving a matching ribbon through. Once the ribbon is woven through the holes, and the label is assembled and attached, then tie the ribbon in a cute bow.Wallah! Your gift jar is ready to be filled with a goodie of your choice for a dear friend or a loved one for the next upcoming holiday that requires a gift. I hope you,too,are having a Happy Crafting experience, preparing for the Happy Holiday Season ahead!

Isn't it cute?And cost free,too.