Mason Jar Tumbler

I had seen so many cute Mason jar ideas that I decided to save my empty Classico spaghetti sauce containers, which just happen to be Mason jars.  We must eat a lot of spaghetti because I have amassed quite the collection.  I wasn't sure what to do with them all.  But then I saw the cutest Mason jar tumbler for sale, complete with a flower cutout in the lid, and an idea popped into my head:  Maybe I could use a steel-rule die to cut a design in the lid of one of my many jars.  Unfortunately, they were all the really large 32 ounce containers from Costco.  Oh well, this was just an experiment.  I can always save the finished product for those really bad days when I need a Cougartown-size glass of wine.  (Yes, Doctor, I allow myself the recommended one glass of wine per day for health benefits.)

Looking at the depth of the lid (these aren't the two-piece lids that come with empty canning jars), I decided the Movers & Shapers dies from Sizzix would probably work best. The only one I had that might possibly work for my project was a small keyhole die. It was almost the same depth as my lid, which was about the depth of an original Sizzix die, so I knew I could safely feed it through my Sizzix Big Shot.

Once I had the Movers & Shapers die in place inside the lid, I realized it wasn't as tall as the sides of the lid, which meant it wouldn't make contact with the die cut machine.  I knew I needed some rather thick shims, so I reached for another Sizzix die to cut a few circles from heavyweight chipboard.

 

One pass through my Sizzix Big Shot provided enough circles to create the height I needed.

 

I placed the lid and keyhole die between two cutting plates and ran them through the Big Shot.  It cut through the lid pretty well with just a small piece that didn't cut completely.  I used gentle force to separate the stubborn areas.

 

Now for a word of caution about using the die in this manner.  The steel-rule shape in my die pushed through the wooden die base slightly, either because the total thickness of my shims created too much pressure (looking at the picture above, I think I got carried away with the circles) or because I needed to use a more solid shim to provide a sturdy base for the die (or both).  My die still works fine, though. 

  

 

The cut edges of my lid were a little rough, so I used a file to gently smooth them.

Since my lid was gold, I decided to use Martha Stewart Craft paint in gold to cover the lettering.  Nobody really wants to know they're drinking from a spaghetti sauce jar.

A few coats of paint later, my jar was ready to serve as a very large tumbler.  I make no claims as to how well this will hold up to repeated uses (or the dishwasher), but it was fun to experiment. 

I think these would be cute to make for an outdoor summer party.  The lids would help keep those pesky bugs out of the lemonade and iced tea.  I would suggest using a smaller jar, preferably one that can be safely gripped with only one hand.

Sadly, the Classico Spaghetti Sauce at Costco is now sold in a slightly different style jar.  Time to move on to a new obsession.

Valentines for the Grandchildren

The past week has been difficult, to say the least, and I didn't get cards made for my grandchildren.  (Chatty Cathy was definitely disappointed.  The Princess doesn't care because she has a date!)

 

These are from last year.  The monkey and sentiment are from the Cricut cartridge Sweethearts.  For extra fun I used googly eyes and attached the head with a homemade version of action wobbles.  I embossed the background using the Cuttlebug folder Heart Blocks (pink paper for the girls and red for my grandson). 

 

 

Thanks for visiting my blog!



Valentine's Day Card for my Husband

 

 

Since it's actually February 14th already, I'm starting to doubt I'll get a Valentine's Day card made for my husband before the day is over.  I haven't had a spare moment all week.  Chatty Cathy came down with the flu on Saturday, and about the time she started feeling well enough to go back to school the snow started piling up outside.  It's been a crazy week with kids and hubby underfoot, and cardmaking just wasn't a priority.

 

This is the card I made my husband last year.  The background paper is from the Recollections stack Love Letters.  The die cuts are from the Slice design card Je t'adore. 

 

Thanks for looking! 

Wives with Knives

I'm tired.  My granddaughters made it clear to me yesterday that they think I do nothing around here.  I did a lot of nothing today.  And by "nothing" I mean seven loads of laundry, picking up crap all over the house, helping my granddaughter with a last-minute craft for tomorrow, repackaging the six pounds of ground beef I bought at Costco, cooking dinner, etc., etc., etc...

I thought I'd get a break from cooking today.  Usually we have take-out for Sunday dinner, but since tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday I was planning to cook all the fattening foods that are taboo the rest of the year.  I don't watch the Super Bowl, but I try to make it a fun day for my husband since he does.  Anyway, I figured if I was cooking tomorrow we'd get take-out today.  Made perfect sense to me.  But I guess I was alone in my thinking.  So I ended up cooking a fancy meal of hot dogs and cole slaw.

I doubt most married couples fight over cole slaw.  My husband and I do.  I like onions in mine and he doesn't. 

The fact that my husband hates onions is usually only a mildly annoying issue.  Until he ticks me off about something else.  Then it feels like grounds for divorce.

While I was doing my early preparations for dinner this afternoon, I made a comment to my husband that made him angry.  Suffice it to say I was right and he was wrong.  Trust me on this.

Well, he thought he could get snippy with me.  Not a good idea when I'm holding a chef's knife.

I grabbed the ingredients for the cole slaw:  cabbage, carrots, mayo, etc.  I started chopping and grating and mixing.  I was tired.  I was hurt.  I was angry.  So I did what any self-respecting wife-with-a-knife would do: I grabbed an onion and started chopping.  And then I dumped the whole thing into the cole slaw.

Revenge is a dish best served with onion.