Frugal Tuesday - Keeping Busy and Saving Money, Sewing Jars

So, even though it has been rather warm here for this time of year there is still nothing I can do outside and as a result I am left with rather a LOT of time on my hands. This would no doubt not be a problem except I can't stand having nothing to do or feeling cooped up. I suppose that is one reason I started blogging in the first place! I know spring will be coming soon but it can't be soon enough for me and I think I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. The land here is so quiet! Except for the moose and occasional fox, magpie or crow there is nothing. Silence envelopes everything. It is like the land itself is holding its breath and waiting for spring to arrive.

To try to fill my time I have been doing some crafty type things. Since I have quite a few women friends (although most in faraway places) I figured I better get started on some gifts for them throughout the year. I can save some money by making their gifts as well as hopefully save my sanity at the same time.

The first thing I decided to make is some little sewing jars. I have seen quite a few of these come across Pinterest as you no doubt have and I think they are kind of cute. So many younger women don't sew or even mend any more, and even our daughters, who have been encouraged to learn, don't seem to know their way around a needle. It isn't unusual for me to go visit and have someone ask. "Mom? Can you fix this for me?" Of course then we have to find something to fix it with!

So, here's what I made today. Who knows? Maybe it will inspire someone to pick up a needle and thread and fix a tear or replace a button instead of discarding the item. :) They didn't take too long, and since I have more canning jars then I will ever use, cost very little except my time.

Sewing Jars

How I did it....

First I gathered some materials: (one of the sites I browsed said to use cardboard so I cut some out but didn't use it)

• a piece of cloth ( I had some jean material so decided to use it)
• a piece of felt
• a nice little mason jar with lid
• a few sewing notions purchase in town (you could try a sewing shop or even a dollar store)
• a bit of stuffing
• some pins
• a glue gun or a needle and thread

Cut the cloth to about 2 inches bigger than the lid...

Take a piece of stuffing about this size and place on the cloth then place the lid on top right side down. When finished the puffy part needs to be on top of the lid. 

I started out with the glue gun but soon realized I wouldn't have enough glue to finish!

I ended up sewing the first part. I didn't take long and it didn't have to be pretty. See my little piece of felt waiting to hid the thread? I just used another lid to cut it to the right size.

See? Fits perfectly! I ended up having enough glue to for this part thanks to Mountain Man having to go to town for some items.  All you do next is take this and push it into the jar lid so the puffy part sticks out the top.  The only problem I ran into was that the layers of cloth made it difficult to put the lids back on the jars. Hmm... What to do? Then I remembered I had a ton of old time jar lids. The ones with the glass inserts. These lids are much bigger and were the original lids for these old jars. 

See the difference? Once I switched to the bigger lid it worked like a charm! These old lids are also much better for wear and tear as they never rust and last forever.

All finished but a little on the plain side so I dressed them up like you see in the top photo with some ribbon and a little card.  Not bad for a days work and I love that sense of accomplishment. Hmm... What can I make next?

Also linked to Frugally Sustainable's Blog Hop and Prairie Homestead