Mason Jar Madness

Blame it on Pinterest or the hardware store down the street from my apartment (with the oh-so-adorable male employees), but whoever’s fault it is, I am now wholeheartedly addicted to mason jars. Admittedly, and somewhat pathetically, I have bought 15 mason jars of all different sizes in the past week with no plans for them except to take up space in my cabinets.

So I turned to the Web for some clever ideas for utilizing my new collection. Here’s some of my favorites:

1. Glass Jar Frames: I found this idea early on in my investigation and I absolutely love it! All you need is a clean jar, photos, a ruler, and scissors. After measuring the picture and cutting it to size, just pop it in the jar and voila!

2. Mason Jar Salads: After seeing this on Pinterest, I have happily been bringing my lunch to work in mason jars for a few weeks.  It is so simple however, from personal experience, I would urge you to mix your salad in a bowl first, then scoop it into the mason jar so that you aren’t getting bites of just onions or peppers. If it is premixed it is easier to enjoy. Add some quinoa and Bon Appetit!

3. Mason Jar Terrarium: What a cool idea! I will be attempting this immediately. I stumbled upon this craft website that gave complete instructions on how to create your very own terrarium in any size mason jar. All you need to complete this project is a glass mason jar with lid, potting soil, terrarium charcoal, small stones, pebbles, or gravel, preserved sheet moss, decorations (ones you might see in a fish tank) and chopsticks or bamboo skewers. The craft site includes a detailed list of how to create your terrarium including prepping the jar and adding your materials.

4. Mason Jar Snow Globe: Another craft site I stumbled upon while googling “uses for mason jars” suggested that I create a snow globe with my empty jars. For this project you will need jars, florist clay, a small figurine, glitter, a hot glue gun, ribbon and plastic garland. The website again is very helpful giving complete instructions as well as helpful hints including how to keep your globe secure, how to choose your figurine wisely, how to find the right greenery for the globe, how to best use (and not over use as many of us have a tendency of doing) glitter, how to add a pop of color to your globe and how to choose the perfect theme. I can’t wait to try this one!

For more crafty mason jar ideas, check out 50 Great Uses for Mason Jars.

~Michelle Mass