Pamper Jar

Usually at Christmas I make up a little basket of goodies like bubble bath, face packs etc. to put in my guest bedrooms but when I saw this idea for “Pampering in a Jar” on the brilliant blog below,  I just had to have a go …..

http://www.thegunnysack.com/2011/10/everything-in-jar-handmade-gifts.html

I’ve been saving large Douwe Egberts coffee jars for ages as they are just to decorative to throw away.  All I’ve added is a very simple label using an A4 sheet of printable canvas and a bit of bling.

I haven’t filled it completely yet, but when I am on my travels I will be looking for miniature versions of popular products in Boots, Superdrug and Asda, especially if they have a 3 for 2 offer on.

As an extra touch I’ve popped a Yankee Candle tea light into the lid of the jar, so that when my guests are having a little pamper they are also surrounded with beautiful wafts of perfume!

It’s well worth having a look at Tonia’s blog as she has a lot of other brilliant ideas for gifts in jars along with a lot of other ideas too

http://www.thegunnysack.com/2011/10/everything-in-jar-handmade-gifts.html

Jars are really versatile for crafting ideas but I HATE trying to remove all the sticky stuff off them …..  until I found this in Aldi - £2.99 a bottle ….. its brilliant!

Decopatch Jam Jar Garden Lantern

I wondered how Decopatch would work on a jam jar destined to become a garden lantern.  I did a bit of research on Google to get a few ideas and then I was off and running.  I can’t remember the name of the paper I used, but it was just right for summer nights.

Once the jar was covered, I had an Ulrika moment and punched out some dragonflies using a light weight paper and glued them on top of the Decopatch ….. next followed several coats of clear glossy varnish …. I hate that bit as I get it all over me…. and all over my desk …. I am such a messy worker!

The final bit was the hanger …. always a bit of a botch up job that always seems to look OK in the end … I don’t have a method, just thin gold wire, a lot of winding and a few beads!

And how did it look in the dark ……? Beautiful!