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.

Bracelets from Grungeboard

I wanted to post something crafty today, but since I haven't made anything in a while I had to dust off this project from Christmas.

 

Christmas for our family this year was kind of "Little House on the Prairie".  There wasn't a huge pile of money sitting around, so after digging change out of the sofa cushions to buy the must-have items I had to get creative to keep the stack of presents from looking so..tiny.

 

I had seen this idea on the Martha Stewart Show a while back and tucked it away in the recesses of my mind.  Of course finding it there when I needed it wasn't easy.   So I went to MarthaStewart.com and found the video.  Much easier.

My bracelets are a little different from those shown in the video, but the overall idea is the same.  Since I didn't have sturdy leather for the bands, I used Tim Holtz grungeboard instead.  After cutting the strips to size with a craft knife, I painted them to resemble leather using Martha Stewart satin finish craft paint in Chestnut Brown.  I had planned to add monogrammed metal elements to the front of each, but for various reasons that just didn't happen.  What I did instead was use a couple of oval shapes from a Tim Holtz grungeboard pack called Mixed Minis Plain, and to make them resemble metal I painted them with Martha Stewart metallic craft paint in Sterling.  I let everything dry for a few hours, then punched holes for the beads with my Martha Stewart screw punch.  I used the Making Memories Magnetic Stamp Set to emboss each girl's initial into one of the oval shapes, and then took a fine tip permanent marker and traced inside each letter to make them stand out.  I used some heavy coated thread from my jewelry-making stash to form the loop closure at one end, after which I continued threading in and out of the holes to attach the beads and oval shapes, and finally finished at the other end by adding a button.

 

 

Thanks for looking!

Altered Boot Box

While cleaning out my closet (or more accurately, while reinstalling my closet rods after they fell under the weight of my clothing hoard) I found a pair of boots I purchased years ago, still unworn and in their box.  The boots themselves didn't excite me; if they did, they would probably have been worn by now.  But the box?  That's a different story.

The box was fairly sturdy and looked like a matchbox on steroids.  At first I couldn't think of a specific use for it, but I just thought it was too darned cool to throw away.  Stuck at home and bored to tears, I decided to turn the box into something pretty and useful.  Or at least useful.

The box was slightly larger than 12x12 so I wanted to find paper that would coordinate with the blue border on the box, thereby allowing me to use less paper and expend less energy.  I was able to use just three pieces of 12x12 paper--one covered most of the top, another was cut into three 4x12 pieces to cover the sides and back, and the third was used to cover the front and to fill in a few gaps.

I used Mod Podge to glue the paper to the box.  To make it look a little fancier (I didn't say fancy, just fancier) I brushed a small amount of gold Martha Stewart Craft Paint along the edges.  After allowing the paint and glue to dry throughly, I brushed Mod Podge over everything to seal it.  As a final touch I attached a metal label holder to the drawer front using my Crop-A-Dile. 

Because it is large enough to hold a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper, I decided it would be perfect to store my unfinished paper projects.  I can also set my current project on top of the box if I need to temporarily free up table space, and because it opens like a drawer I can still access the contents inside if necessary. 

I got to play and ended up with something useful.  And I reduced my paper stash by three sheets.  It was a very good day.