Giving Jarred Foods as Gifts

Recently I discovered the art of canning and I am in love. I bought 15 pounds of blueberries and I set to work making jams, butters and syrups all with the intention of giving it all away as gifts. As a crafty person, a cheap one, and a lazy one, I am always thinking ten steps ahead of where I am presently. So, as I was cooking up my very first batch of blueberry jam in August I was already thinking of an easy and cheap way to package them as gifts. After some Google image searches and a trip to Target I came up with this, it's fast, it's easy, it's inexpensive and it will make your jars look like gifts instantly!

And here is the step by step tutorial.

You will need,
• Some jarred food that you would like to give as a gift (Sealed)
• Fabric remnants
• Gift tags (You can use anything, I bought these tags at Target, but you can use manila ones or plain white ones from Staples, or you can make your own with card stock and a hole punch. Because of the scrap booking craze you can get some beautiful patterned card stock at any craft store, or use plain for a simpler look. But remember to take into consideration the size of your jar. Larger jars look better with larger tags, smaller jars, smaller tags)
• A mason jar lid for tracing (the jars are sealed, so you need an extra for tracing)
• A Sharpie Marker (I used a thin for tracing and a thick for writing out the tags)
• String to attach the tags to the jars. (I used embroidery thread because I have a ton of it)
• Fabric Scissors
• Glue (Any kind of glue will work)
• A glass of wine (optional, but suggested)

Using a pen or thin marker trace the extra jar lid onto the wrong side of the fabric. If you are using really good fabric scissors you should be able to cut through 4 or 5 layers at a time. Cut out your circles of fabric.

Next you will need to remove the ring from your jarred food and apply a small amount of glue to the top of the jar and place the fabric circle in the center, pressing it down. Let it dry for a few minutes before putting the ring back on. Take a break and have some wine.

You can replace the ring immediately, but I always find that I have to take it right back off again when attaching the gift tag, so I suppose it is better to just let it be and continue with the rest of the jars.

Next write out your tags. I like to put the expiration date on the back of the tag and on the front, what it is. Don't worry about your handwriting. The penmanship is just part of the charm that is part of a homemade gift. So, go ahead and scribble scrabble away.

You are almost done. Now, using string or embroidery floss attach the tags to the jars (this can take some practice getting the string tight around the neck of the jar). Twist the ring back on, remember it doesn't need to be tight.

And VOILA! You have a beautiful, one of a kind gift. Take a break here and have some wine.

Happy canning :)