A Mason Jar Caddy

 As one of the last bloggers in the cool, cool kitty corner of the craft blogs to play around with Mason jars, I felt it was time.

I grew up with canning jars used for every imaginable idea.  My mother stored pasta, flour, and other dry goods in them.  My grandparents actually used them to can food - imagine that!  My granny put sewing notions in them.

More outlandish ideas included a place for spitting tobacco, fishing hooks, crickets, left-over paint, and shark teeth. 

 Probably the idea most of you would not imagine?  Put under the car seat for an emergency bathroom.  (Folks, back in the fifties and early sixties, there weren't  public restrooms for miles and miles!)

Those olden times uses aside, I decided to go more mainstream with this Mason jar caddy.

I know you are truly relieved!  (Get it -relieved.)

I washed the jars and painted with two coats of gesso on the outside for the primer.

Besides the three canning jars, I had bought this wire basket conveniently divided into three sections.

Funny how your junk seems to come together like that.

I coated the rim, handles and some of the wire of the basket.

At first I was going with the white of the gesso, but decided on a softer look.

Read my last post for the recipe of my goopy mixture.  (Recipe here!)

This Mason jar caddy was the second of three projects I used it.

Two coats of the goopy mixture and two coats of satin craft varnish to get the jars ready for some ornamentation.

The rims were wrapped in off-white mini-jute twine with millinery flowers added.

Yes, the mini-jute is so mini, it almost can't be seen.

In person it is absolutely beautiful!

:>)

 After all had dried, small gelatin molds were placed in the tops with candles.

Great for indoor dining or patio snacking.

HINT:  Add some water in the molds or your glass votive holders before putting in the candles.  It keeps the wax from hardening on the surfaces.

Since Chucks and I mostly dine on the sofa with lapboards, this is how I will use the Mason jar caddy - to hold craft supplies!

There is one more project I completed with that bowl of goopy mixture.  That stuff sure went a long way.

And guess what - it does not include storing craft supplies.

See y'all!

 





I AM PARTYING AT DONNA'S PARTY JUNK 201 HERE!