Canning | Growing in Grace

I’m so excited about this one because it just makes cents. Yes, it makes sense, but because this is a gift you don’t wanna forget to make, it makes cents. You’ll see because you probably already have a few of the ingredients at home. Well, if you don’t, borrow them or save them from the Christmas gift from grandma you are guaranteed to get.

Anyways, This summer was my first year canning and while my stock is pretty full for me I’m just thinking every time I pop open one of the lids for my go to spaghetti sauce or sweet peaches….”I don’t wanna through these away!!!” I literally have a fit every time I have to throw away a lid or seal, which ever you prefer. Let’s face it, canning saves me a ton of money but having to buy new lids each time does not. You all know me, the bang for the buck girl, I couldn’t fathom the fact that these lids could not be put to good use. So I saved them all, each and every one and you know what? I’m a friggin genius! (I had to laugh at that one. I’m crafty but genius is way to kind. Haha!)

I searched and searched pinterest and could not find one idea that I could do myself. Even something to hint at what I could do would have helped me but nonetheless I dug into my crafting bag and pulled out my creativity. You know the thing about pinterest? It sometimes makes me too reliant on other people’s creativity, but don’t get me wrong, I’m still a pinterest junkie. However, my belief is that every now and again your own creative sparks need to be plugged in. And if you don’t have any? pinterest is a good place to get started. Eh?

I’m sure I could do a lot more with my lids so I won’t have to use up my good rings but I’m not too thirsty on rings so I had some to spare. If you buy a case of jars, you get lids and rings and there are plenty of things to do with the jars (i.e loose change, makeup storage, candy jar, tooth brushes, q-tips and cotton balls, razors, travel lotions and more) I even keep my brillo pads and sink stoppers in one from time to time.

So here’s what you will need:

Scissors
Glue gun
Cork card stock paper
Stamps of your choice (got mine at Michael’s for $1.00)( Make sure it fits inside of the circle)
Used or new wide mouth mason jar lid and ring
Stamp pad in color of your choice ( I used the one’s from our guest book, hubby hand drew a willow tree 🙂
A pen to trace with ( not pictured)

1. With the lid of the Jar face down trace around it as many times as you’d like to get your desired number of coasters. My sister gave me the left over cork paper from a project she did for my bridal shower. Then cut it out.

2. Next with your glue gun place a thin layer of hot glue in the bottom of the ring ( all the way around) facing upward like in the picture above. Only a thin layer or it will ooze out of the bottom.

3. Press your lid on top of the hot glue seal side up. So when you turn it over it should look like it is sealed together, like the top of a canned mason jar. Metal to metal, plastic inside.

4. Once that dries, squeeze out another thin layer of hot glue on to the seal side. Around the edge is best because you want to look smooth and not bumpy. Press your cork circle down on the hot glue.

5. Next press your stamp down on your pad and then stamp it on the cork as light or dark as you’d like, I did mine super heavy so It took a few days to dry. If you use color box it will take a few days. But they have the most vibrant colors in my opinion.

And then you’re done! Just wait for them to dry and voila!

The good thing about these are? You can make them to keep or give away, they can say what every you want them to and you can make multiple ones to switch out for the seasons. This project cost me $1.00 because I had everything but the stamps, but if you were starting from scratch you can just buy the rings and seal here for less than $5.50. It’s still a cheap project if you ask me.

I so hope you try this! And as always with everything good thing I post, I know you’ll love this and add it to your list!

Happy Crafting,

Linking up with: wedded wednesdays, playdates with God, livingproverbs31, Titus2sday

Happy Friday!

I’m so excited to be off work. This week has been a great one. One that will definitely go down in the ages. Why might you ask? No specific reason but specifically because a new batch of grace was poured on my bland soul.

Anyways. I’ve scoured the world-wide net for recipes to apple butter lately. There were some good ones, some bland ones, and some I’d think of sticking in my pocket. It’s funny really. I loved apple butter as kid–The store-bought brand. I’ve loved everything about its appley goodness..and then I never saw it again. But somehow it skidaddled its way right back onto my palette. Errr.

Every recipe I looked at had a pound of pearly white sugar slapped onto it. So I decided to go another route.

I’ve been hearing about this agave nectar and how it’s supposed to be better for diabetics and over all more natural than anything . Funny how everything is so healthy nowadays–honey doesn’t even cut it. LOL Yea I heard, It’s a lot “healthier” than honey. Until I read this, this and this.

Yup, I did my homework. Sort of.

Agave Nectar is actually sweeter than honey and contains more concentrated fructose than high fructose corn syrup. Isn’t this saddening? It does have some nutritional value to it but none that is actually worth it in the end. It originated from the blue agave plant (aguamiel) which is grown usually in the Southern U.S, Northern South America and in some parts of Mexico. The stuff we buy at the store does not. Agave in its essence is a bad alternative for healthy eating( the stuff we buy). Maple syrup is actually better for you.

After reading these articles I was dumbfounded. It never hurts to check the facts and sometimes eating healthier is as simple as 3..2..1.

I made two versions of this all the same except the ingredients. The one that was made with agave was sweet and awesome. But I just couldn’t get over the concentrated fructose. So I decided to just use my good old brown sugar and honey. You could use sugar in the raw and use 1 cup or you could use all brown sugar. For me the apples and spices had a nice flavor on their own and could have gone with the sweeteners or without it. Your call.

Here’s the recipe:

6 medium-large apples/3 pears
1 half cup of honey
1 half cup of brown sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
sprinkle of salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup of water

Peel and core apples. (I cut mine in cubes) Add all ingredients and stir to coat apples. Cook on low for about 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Once the apples release juice and cook down to a slushy texture, mash or chop with a spatula to break up larger pieces. I ended up putting mine in the blender for about 30 seconds when it was done. I mixed until it reached a spreadable texture and then poured into a mason jar. Enjoy the yummy smell!!