Mason Jar Pincushion



Materials List


Mason jar/ glass canning jar
Canning ring and lid
Piece of cotton fabric about 6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) - I used a scrap piece of t-shirt material
Polyester fill/stuffing - I used some batting from my stash, you could also use cotton balls
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Paint (optional - my canning ring was used and there were a few spots of rust on it so I gave it a quick coat of off-white chalk paint)
Ribbon/trim of your choice -to hide the rough edge of the pincushion (I used ribbon)
Stickers/embellishments for your jar (I used Recollections reusable stickers specifically for mason jars from Michaels)

Note: If you are doing any painting you probably want to make that your first step.

1st Step - Make the Pincushion

Trace the outline of the canning lid on the wrong side of the fabric. I used a double thickness of the fabric because I wanted the surface to be nice and firm. Take a handful of batting and squash it into a ball shape before placing it in the circle you drew on the fabric. Pull the fabric around the batting and handsew it together, clipping away extra fabric as you go. In the end you will have a sort of ball - round on the top, flattish on the bottom.

Centre your pincushion on the lid to make sure it's not too big. The diameter should be roughly the same. Now take the lid and cover the top with hot glue. The metal will get hot so be careful to not burn your fingers! Take your pincushion set it into the hot gluePush it down to make sure it sticks and hold for 15 - 30 seconds. Set this aside. Take the canning ring and run some hot glue around the top on the inside. Do not get any on the threads. Quickly take the pincushion that is now attached to the lid and shove it through the middle of the ring as far as you possibly can and hold it there for 15 - 30 seconds. At this point, I took an extra jar (not the one I was using for the project) and screwed the lid onto it to hold everything together while the glue completely sets. Add some extra hot glue around the base of the pincushion for extra security. Next cut a piece of ribbon to hide the join between the pincushion and the lid and hot glue in place. Then take a matching piece of ribbon and tie it around the base in a bow to finish it off. Secure this with a dab of hot glue if you wish.

2nd Step - Decorate the Jar

I used stickers designed for decorating jars which had been given to me as part of a gift. I'm sure many stickers would work as long as they were flexible enough to conform to the curved surface of the jar. Arrange your stickers around all the sides of the jar in a pleasing way. If you use repositionable/reusable stickers you'll be able to move them around if you don't care for your first try.

3rd Step - Filling the Jar

At this point, you can start filling your jar with your sewing supplies. If you will be giving this as a gift, some things to include might be:
a small pair of scissors or a thread cutter
a seam ripper
handsewing needles
pins with coloured heads
thread (a few spools in neutral colours)
buttons (perhaps the kind you would use on a shirt)
a cloth tape measure
I put an ergonomic thread cutter, colour head pins, an assortment of handsewing needles, and thread in neutral colours (white, black, grey, and brown) into mine

You could make one for cross-stitch and embroidery purposes by filling the jar with skeins of colourful embroidery floss (like DMC floss), an assortment of embroidery needles, and a pair of tiny scissors. It would be very easy to customise this project for different uses.

Variations
You could use a coloured jar instead of a clear one (or paint your jar with a glass paint like Vitrea for a custom colour)
You could paint your jar with regular craft paint, chalk paint, or even blackboard paint for a different look.
Instead of using stickers, try vinyl window clings (you'll want small ones)
Another alternative to stickers is decorate your jar with decoupage (you'll need Mod Podge for this)

Tips
Decide on a theme for your jar to give it a cohesive look. I used a piece of pale aqua patterned fabric and brighter aqua ribbon to go with my birdcage and flower stickers for a springtime feel. Some other ideas might be a rustic theme using burlap, twine, and leaf decorations; victorian with chintz fabric, lots of lace and satin ribbon, and floral stickers; or country using gingham fabric, ribbon in a complementary colour, and accents featuring roosters or sunflowers. You could also decorate jars using the different seasons as your inspiration - pastels and flowers for spring, a nautical theme for summer, warm autumn colours and leaves for fall, snowmen or snowflakes for winter. The possibilities are unlimited!
You could match the colours to the room the pincushion will be used in or you could use your favourite colour. If your project is to be a gift, it is a nice touch to decorate it in the recipient's favourite colour or use accents that are associated with their profession or hobbies (books for a librarian or teacher, flowers for a gardener, etc).

Learning About Time

 

My daughter is really struggling with learning about time and how to tell time on a clock.  So, I decided to make a clock that we could play with to try to reinforce the concepts I've been trying to teach.

I had all the supplies I needed in my craft stash (I'll provide a supply list at the end of this post for those of you interested in knowing exactly what I used).  The clock face is an image from The Graphics Fairy that I printed out on cardstock.  I went over the hour numbers with a red marker and coloured the minute marks with a blue marker (I also added in the minutes in 5 minute increments around the outside edge).  After trimming the paper a little, I put some self adhesive magnet sheets on the back.  I drew a minute hand and an hour hand on scraps of cardstock and cut them out.  I added some scraps of the magnetic sheet on the back of the hands so they would stick to the clock.  I used some leftover bits of cardstock with a little piece of magnet on the back to make schedule cards.  These have a time and an event written on them (for example - in the photo below, the card says 7.30 Breakfast and I have the hands of the clock placed correctly to show that time). 

I'm hoping to use this as a schedule reminder as well as a teaching tool to help Lass grasp the concept of time.

Thanks for visiting today!

Supplies used

(2) 6" x 9 " self adhesive magnet sheets - Dollar store

(1) 8 1/2" x 11" sheet tan cardstock - Recollections brand from Michaels

Sharp pair of scissors (DO NOT use your best scissors because the magnet sheets make them really gummy)

Scraps of red, blue, and cream cardstock

Red and blue markers - I used Crayola  SuperTips

Time from start to finish

30 minutes

Waterless Snow Globes

This is a really easy craft I first saw on Salt Tree blog.  Go check out her photos for her step by step directions.  I did this craft with a group of 4 kids aged 3-7 and they loved it.

I had to tweak the directions slightly because I couldn't find the exact supplies she used, but here is what I did:

1. Take a small Mason canning jar and take the ring apart.  Glue your miniature (I used little trees like you would put in a Christmas village) to the metal side of the lid with hot glue.
2. Hot glue cotton balls around the base of the miniature (this is your snow).  Set this aside to fully dry.
3. Take your jar and add some large flake glitter (either silver or gold) to it, enough to cover the bottom of the jar well.  Then add as much fine or super fine glitter as you want for added colour and sparkle.  We used gold, silver, red, royal blue, green, purple, pink, and light blue (everyone picked whatever colours they fancied).
4.   Take your lid and insert the miniature into the jar UPSIDE DOWN.  Then put the ring back on the jar and tighten securely.  You may want to glue it shut if there is a possibility someone might get it open ;)
5. Turn over, shake and enjoy!

You can see the glitter a little better in this photo.

Thanks for visiting!