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Use paint, labels, stencils, decoupage, and embellishments to make your jars look special. Match gifts and jar decorations to the person receiving the gift. Then attach a matching gift card to your jar.

Use glass canning jars, glass bottles, old-fashioned wire bail jars, recycled jars, ageold jars, or plastic storage jars. Jars will have to have tight fitting lids.

Sterilize Jars for Food Gifts

The jars you use to package feed gifts ought to be glass and sterilized before use.

Check all jars for chips and cracks. If chipped or cracked, don’t use for food. Use new lids.
Wash with hot, soapy water; then rinse.
To sterilize jars, place on a rack in a big pot and cover with water. Let water come to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from boiling water and let dry. Jars and lids may likewise be sterilized in your dishwasher.

Methods to Decorate Your Jars

Decorate With Paint

Always wash jar in hot soapy water to remove grease or residue.

Select a paint intended for use on the surface you are decorating. Read the label on the paint container to determine the paint’s compatibility with your surface. This rule goes for painting on glass, metal lids, or plastic jars and lids.

Acrylic craft paints are not permanent and may be rubbed or washed off.

Acrylic Glass Paints are best for glass jars. They come in a wide assortment of pre-mixed colors in commodious squeeze bottles to embellish your gift jars. These types of paints may be baked in a home oven to make them more lasting and washable. (Read the label) To bake, let the paint arid on the jar for 48 hours. Place glass jar in a conventional oven (not preheated) and heat to 325 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and concede jar to cool in oven before removing. After baking painted jars may be hand washed. Washing in a dishwasher is not recommended.
Air-Dry Enamel Paints for Glass are opaque, brush-on glass paints available that air arid to a high-gloss, waterproof finish. Choose a brand that is water-based and non-toxic.
Paints for Plastic are brush-on paints exceptionally invented for adhering to plastic and arid to a durable, waterproof finish. Water-based types concede you to clean brushes and spills with soap and water.
Paint Pens are available in craft shops and come in a wide selection of colors. They are great for detailing and simple jar decoration.
Fabric Paints may be employed for special effects like wording or facial features. Can likewise be applied to decorate lids. They squeeze directly from the bottle.

Paint a design on the jar using pre-cut purchased stencils or a design you cut yourself from freezer paper. You may also paint the design on your jar free-hand. Draw the outline with a Sharpie Fine Point Permanent marker or paint free-hand. Use caution as the Sharpie marker will smudge on glass.

Decorate With Labels

Make paper labels produced on your computer and then printed, or draw label on your choice of paper.

To give your labels an aged aspect spatter with brown acrylic paint thinned in water. Use an old tooth brush for spattering.

Lightly sponge the edges of the label using a dense foam sponge and the spattering mixture.

Allow labels to dry; then glue or decoupage to jar.

Decorate with Decoupage

Use Mod Podge Gloss Lustre decoupage medium for your jars.

Decoupage is done in three basic steps: cutting, gluing, and sealing.

Trim away excess paper from the effigy or picture you wish to use.
Using a foam brush, lightly coat the back of the effigy with decoupage medium. Position the effigy on the surface and smooth it with your fingers, pushing out wrinkles and air bubbles. Allow to dry.
Apply two or three coats of decoupage medium over the effigy with a foam brush to seal the paper. The effigy appears cloudy when wet, but will arid crystal clear.

Decoupaged jars may be wiped with a damp cloth to clean but can not be washed in a

dishwasher or submerged in water.

You may develop a paper collage jar using decoupage. A collage is a group of pictures or images layered and overlapped to form a display. Use printed photos, interesting paper, stamps, and stickers. Arrange the images by overlapping them for a ornamental display. Attach and seal them with two or three coats of decoupage medium.

Decorate with Fabric

If you prefer not to embellish the outside of the glass or plastic jar, add decoration to the lid.

Cover the top of the jar lid with fabric or a little lace fabric or paper doily. Use holiday or gingham fabric cut with pinking sheers. Add three to four inches to the diameter dimension of the jar lid for coverage and decoration. A circular piece of batting may be employed underneath the fabric for a stuffed appearance. A counted cross stitch design may likewise be employed on top of the jar. Place the fabric over the lid on the jar or place over the lid seal and then add the screw-on band. Lace or braid may be glued around the band.

Embellishments

A assortment of items may be applied to decorate your prettified jar. Make your embellishment compliment the contents. If your gift jar holds a Gingerbread Cookie Mix attach a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Add a holiday cookie cutter to a Sugar Cookie Mix. Attach a tea ball or infuser to a jar of tea. Attach a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or wire whisk to other mixes.

Make a tag or card to coordinate with the jar decoration or contents and attach with a ribbon or raffia.

Embellishments include ribbon, holiday garlands, gold braid or cord, raffia, lace, buttons, beads, charms, tassels, or bandanas.

Choosing Glues

For gluing items to jars, silicon-based glue for glass works best. It also works well for gluing wood to glass, metal to glass, or plastic to glass. It may likewise be used to attach items to metal or wooden lids. Silicone-based glue dries tardily so you will have to prop the jar conservatively until the glue is dry.

A glue gun may be used for attaching light objects such as ribbon to the jar for instant hold.

White craft glue is used for gluing unbaked polymer pieces to a jar or lid before baking in the oven.

Gift Jar Contents

Use your imagination and consider who the gift is for when resolving on the contents. Food mixes are very popular. Gift jars may also integrate sewing notions, keep sakes, games, snack foods such as trail mix, nuts n’ bolts or chex mix, candied nuts, candied popcorn, Christmas candy or jelly beans, coffee, tea, flavored vinegars and oils in glass bottles, potpourri or fragrance gel, bath salts, and a baked cake-in-a-jar.

If you plan to give a feed mix, firstborn choose the recipe and ingredients. Food mixes oftentimes look better when the ingredients for the mix are layered in the jar. The recipient may mix the ingredients before using them.

If you plan to give a mix you will need:

A little bottle to tamp down the ingredients as you layer or place them in the jar.
A canning funnel or piece of card stock to make a simple funnel for filling jars.
Paper towels to wipe powdery ingredients off inside of jar.

Tips for Packing Food Ingredients

Layer ingredients in the jar in the order given in the recipe.
Wipe down the sides of the jar with a clean paper towel after adding powdery ingredients such as sugar, cocoa, or flour before adding the next ingredient for a better appearance.
Pack down all ingredients with resolute determination as they are added. If you don’t, you won’t have sufficient space to fit in all the ingredients. Generally, a quart holds 6 cups of packed down ingredients; a pint jar holds 3 cups of packed down ingredients.
If ingredients do not come to top of the jar, fill space with crumpled plastic wrap or waxed paper to prevent the ingredients from shifting and mixing.
After packing ingredients into jar, seal with the lid. Attach a card with the recipe, instructions, a list of any further and added ingredients, and a holiday greeting.

Baked Cake-in-a-Jar

Use a pint-sized wide-mouth canning jar with a two-part lid (flat seal and screw-on band) when baking a cake-in-a-jar. The wide mouth allows the cake to slide out of jar. Choose a cake-in-a-jar recipe or adjust your favored cake recipe to make in jars. Place one cup of prepared cake mix in pint jar. Bake according to directions. Jars and lids must be sterilized before using. (Use new lids) Bake cake and add lid as soon as cake is got rid of from oven. Carefully place flat seal on top of jar and then the screw-on band. Jar is very hot so do not burn yourself. Allow jar to cool and then test to make sure the jar is sealed. If the cake does not seal properly, eat cake, refrigerate or freeze until ready to eat. The sealed jars of cake may be stored without refrigeration for up to two months. Attach a tag with the name of the cake and that says, “Best eaten before (two months from date the cake was baked).”

Give yourself a great deal of time to decorate your gift jars and plan the contents for each person on your Christmas list. Fill the jars, then sit back and relax. Sip a cup of hot spiced cider and get enjoyment from the holidays.