Jars in Waiting.......

(thanks for the heads up...I believe all the links are fixed now!!!)

Hi...My name is Debbie.....and I have a mason jar addiction......(group response..."Hi Debbie!").

Ok, now that we have THAT over with....LOL. Several months ago, while spending the evening working at the library I had some time to surf the web looking for some new blogs, ideas, recipes and such. This is when I stumbled across lots of info on baking in jars. I loved this idea. Now in the past, I had played with the cookies in the jar thing (you know--where you layer all the ingredients for a cookie mix in the jar, attach the recipe to the jar and give as gifts)....but baking...loved that!!!! Plus, I found those pricey bakery sites that sold the little jars of cupcakes for big bucks, but had fanatical followers to attest to their lusciousness. So there had to be something to this, right????

So here is what I found....I have been collecting these to have a "play" date with them in my kitchen...and hopefully it will happen this weekend....
First....I found PIES!!! Yes, pies in a jar.....
check them out at:
Sycamore Stirrings, Not Martha, Lloyd and Lauren

Cake in a jar:
Angry Chicken

Then came drinks....
All Recipes, Mommy's Kitchen, Country Pleasures

Current favorite to try... CUPCAKES!
Ok, after reading this blog I went straight to Wally World right after work to pick up what I needed to make these. Funny thing was, I was standing in the jar aisle when a woman walked up to me to ask what I was canning....my reply? "Cupcakes"....yep, that threw her a bit!!! LOL She was from our local extension agency and is teaching a canning class on Saturday and she thought she had a new recruit!!! LOL

Joy Shope Yes, she does wonderful cupcakes in the jar, and shows how she decorates the jar for giving. This was a new blog for me and I am a big fan now. I tried other recipes for baking the cupcakes in the jar with less than stellar results....I mean they were edible and ok and something new to try. But I like the idea of going ahead to bake the cupcakes separately and layering them in the jar.

I know there are a lot of other ideas out there.....I use the jars to store homemade bath salts, bed linen powders, bulk spices, flavored tea bags, and much more.....

And I know that some of you have some ideas of your own, or other sites to share and I would love to hear those!!! So come on, comment......(smile)
In the future I will try to collect some more ideas as filling the jars are great gift ideas too!!!

And I would like to leave you with a youtube video I found today and love. This has become a favorite song of mine recently.....
Hugs,
Debbie

Mason Jar Love and A Swap Idea.......

Ok, I promised a post about mason jars for today, but sadly my day has been a little chaotic. So I will visit this subject again on Wednesday. But I want you to participate then, so let me tell you what I am thinking about....and then get your ideas together to share in the comments area on Wednesday.

I have always had a thing for mason jars....I have done some of the simple stuff, put my buttons, ribbons, other sewing notions in them.....even some scrapbooking items. I have made lamps out of them with rosehips and cinnamon sticks in the jar part. But now I am doing some new things courtsey of some great blog ideas I have found. I am going to look for the links so I can share those with you Wednesday...but I have found great ice tea syrup ideas, a great coffee syrup recipe, salads in a jar....as well as small pies in a jar!!! I just love all the possiblities!!! So let me have a little more time to get all the info together to share....and I would love to hear your ideas too!

And I tweeked the coffee recipe for us and I love, love, love the result....and I will go ahead and share with you. The original idea came from Mommy's Kitchen.
What I did was take a wide mouth quart jar....add to it one cup of coffee (not instant..but the regular coffee grounds). Then fill the jar with water to about 3/4" from the top. Then I put on the lid (after shaking it around a bit) and set it on the counter overnight. The next morning I strain the mixture through a wire mesh strainer with a coffee filter placed in it....I put the "coffee syrup" into another jar for the fridge. I do this for a couple of days in order to fill the jar with syrup...or you could just have 2 or 3 jars going.
Now the original recipe had you use 4 ounces of coffee syrup, 4 ounces of milk, sweeten to taste and you could add a flavored coffee syrup....then pour over ice. it is ok, but I needed more punch for it to taste like my favorite Frappachino....sooooo.... I use 4 ounces of coffee syrup, 4 ounces of my favorite coffee creamer (french vanilla or southern pecan)...now this I water down a bit for my taste...and sometimes add a splash of caramel coffee syrup. Pour over ice....ohhhh baby!!! love this stuff and it is addictive!!!!

Now for the next idea....
I have been wanting to do a swap for awhile....I have loved the Friendship Swap I am participating in...and the Kitchen Swap I finished awhile back....so tell me what you think of this idea....

I found this great canvas tote at Walmart and it started me thinking..... I would love to fix this up to carry to my craft shows (or for carrying library books, crafts I am working on.....whatever works for you). These totes came in canvas, denim...and a few other colors and different styles. What better way to decorate than with pins!!!! What I love about pins is that you could change them out for different looks...or for the seasons or holidays. And I love having things that are handmade from my friends to just remind me of them. (NOTE; Just wanted to clarify, you don't have to use the same tote I am..it was just an idea. You could use something you already have or make your own great tote!!!)

In thinking about working this into a swap....I thought of a swap we did for several years on one of the groups I had. We did a handmade swap, this was a swap where everyone made something in whatever craft medium they worked in...they would make enough for everyone to have one. Send them all to me, along with money to ship it back. I would put together a box for everyone with one of each item...so you got back a wonderful box of treasures. The beauty is, you don't have to worry about someone not sending something as they wouldn't receive anything unless they sent theirs in.

Are you with me so far?????

So I thought this might work with pins....we would see how many are interested....if the group got too big we could divide it up by groups of 10 or 12.....your could sign up for more than one group if you wanted. And we could possibly have groups by... Everyday Pins, Halloween/Fall pins, Christmas/Winter pins.....

I would love to know what you think about this before I do a sign up.....and I would give everyone a month or two to do this so that no one is rushed.

What do you think?????
Have a great evening....I am off to finish painting my bedroom...(btw, there are extra paint brushes if anyone has the urge to paint!!! LOL)
Hugs,
Debbie

Blog-napped post...

Yes, I stole the quote from someone elses blog post today....I got it from Teresa at Plumwater Cottage...but it just spoke to my heart this morning.

My hubby was my biggest cheerleader...and that is what I thought of as I read this post.. My prayer is that we all do this for someone in our lives!!

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” ~~e e cummings

Have a wonderful Sunday...tomorrow I want to talk about my mason jar obsession...LOL.
Hugs to you all!!!
Debbie

This Just Made Me Smile......

You know, sometimes we just take ourselves way to seriously...but to see the fun and joy that was put into this "celebration" of marriage...well, it just made my day!!! Enjoy!!!

Now Open.....

I am working hard to get things in order and moving forward here....so I am starting by reopening my little blog shop. You can find it at: Pieces From A Creative Heart
The plan is to add something there each day...so please, stop by and check it out...you might find a little something special for yourself or some fun gift giving items. And just leave me a comment to let me know what you think....

Thanks so much!!!
Hugs,
Debbie

Sunday Ramblings......

I woke up this morning to heavy rain outside and decided it would be a great day to just sleep in and putter around the house.....I also realized that I missed blogging and wanted to start again.
There have been so many ups and downs in the last few weeks....trying to work through all the paperwork, wanting to ask John about how something was handled and realizing I can't do that any more....and trying to find out who I am now.
I was so blessed to be married to someone that was my biggest cheerleader....I grew up always hearing the negative about anything you wanted to do....but with John, I only heard "why not"? Even with this encouragement, because of John's extended illness...there were alot of things that were put on hold..... And now I need to figure out where I am going, what I am going to do, what life if going to look like now and who I am. It will be different, but it can be good...and that is what I am trying to focus on.
I guess I really began to think of this while at one of the many office visits one of the papers I had to sign said "marriage ended due to death".....I realized that I was no longer a "wife"..something that I have been for so long that I have forgotten what time was like before there was someone else.
So that is where I am right now.....I am trying to figure out what I am going to be doing....part of it depends on what I find out from the VA and such....I know that I am eligible to go back to school (this was something that John and I had talked about me looking in to for January)...going back to work (great timing on this with the economy)....and figuring out what craft shows that I can get ready for.....trying to get some things together for Etsy and my selling blog... Just working on that one step in front of the other stuff.
I did read a blog today that dedicates her Sunday posts to a prayer for the week....and asking for grace.... I like that, and I may borrow that for my blog in the future too.

Once again...thank you all for your prayers, comments and friendship....I am trying to move forward....and want to begin to blog again on the good stuff.... And all the while remembering:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) Amen.
Hugs to you all!!!!
Debbie