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Are you helping a child to make the gift? If the gift is from a child for a grandparent, parent or teacher, decoupage the child's photo on the outside of the jar, then trim the edges of the photo with lace or some other finishing type of ribbon. The child could even paint a little something on the opposite side of the jar or his or her little handprint with paint.
You can use already decorated type jars, or standard canning jars. The most common sizes are the pint and quart sized jars, but baby jars are also great for smaller portion drink or spice type mix gifts.
One common way to decorate a jar is take some fabric and cut a circle, square or heart shape out of the fabric that is 6 - 8 inches across. You can use pinking shears or other decorative type scissors to edge the fabric. Lace can also be sewn as a trim to the fabric. Place the inner round section of the jar's lid on the jar and center the fabric on that. Screw the other section of the lid in place to hold the fabric. Fluff out the fabric where it comes out from under the lid.
Get creative also in the recipe instructions. Hang tags can be made either by hand, computer graphics or a label glued to the jar itself, but these can be customized to a central theme if desired. However you choose to do this, they will need the recipe?s final instructions.
You can paint the jar before filling it. Buy paint that is specially designed for glass and follow the specific directions. Can't paint? Try finding a card or picture or something you'd like to put on the jar, and get it on paper. Place the paper inside the jar, and then simply let your painting basically be tracing the design and adding your own personal touches to it. Again, this can really be used for a theme and the jar itself will remain a keepsake long after the recipe has been used.
If the gift is from a child for a grandparent, parent or teacher, decoupage the child's photo on the outside of the jar, then trim the edges of the photo with lace or some other finishing type of ribbon. The child could even paint a little something on the opposite side of the jar.
Layer the ingredients for a beautiful effect. Put at the bottom layers the finest ingredients, like flour but be sure to mix in the baking sodas, salt, etc that's called for in the recipes. You can use a funnel to help keep things orderly. If the flour dusts the rest of the jar, let it settle a while then gently wipe the jar with a paper towel before adding the rest of the layers. Brown sugar can be packed down to save a bit of space.
You can give accessories to your jar gifts by either gluing dried flowers, pinecones, beads, shells or whatever to the top or sides of the jars. Tie small items with ribbon or raffia to the jars. Common items that work great are measuring spoons, small whisks, cookie cutters, Christmas ornaments,
cinnamon bark, vanilla beans or any other small item of interest you may discover.
There are many beautiful ribbons and lace out that can be used in a variety of ways to be glued to the jar. Experiment with different textures, colors and ways of tying those to create fresh unique looks.
For a Victorian themed jar try a luscious tea mix or scone or other bakery recipe, gluing some lace around the rim of the jar, some small dried flowers on top or a tassel. Create a label or hang tag that looks like tea stained paper. For a western theme, try perhaps a bean soup recipe, wrap your jar in a bandanna, or use the bandanna itself as tied around the lid. Perhaps you can find a cowboy boot or hat graphic to decoupage on the jar itself, or paint one on.
What about the tea lover you know? Try some small baby jars filled with different flavored teas, cocoas and coffee mixes and put in a basket with a coffee mug and muffin or scone. Paint the jar lids coordinating colors to match the mug. Perhaps adding some gourmet tea bags and cinnamon sticks would be a nice touch as well. Let your creativity guide your senses.
Let your thoughts flow, there really is no telling what you can come up with for a beautiful gift to someone you care about that communicates that you really put forth some heart into this.
By Rachel Ray who likes to discover new creative ideas with regards to family and life in general. Drop by her site for some easy and delicious tasting gifts in a jar ideas.
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