[/caption]One of the many things I do for the ACE Hardware stores I manage is to update a local shopping site with products we carry (and I will admit, I tend to be biased and post items I personally like - it's handy that I happen to enjoy DIY projects, working on cars and making jewelry, so that my customers at least get some variety). But I digress, I was posting items today and came across an all-time favorite of mine, Ball canning jars.
I have a thing for glass: bottles, jars, vases, trinkets, rings, bowls, stained-glass windows, anything Dale Chihuly, old medicine bottles, beach glass, the list goes on and on. So it stands to reason I like canning jars, and being the artist I am, I also like to use things for other purposes than their original intent.
[caption id="attachment_125" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Image © Jerine Lay"]
[/caption]In the case of canning jars, I like to reinvent them as water, beer, juice or punch glasses at an outdoor party or barbeque and as candle holders, indoors and outdoors. When I use them as candle holders outside, I choose tea candles so they stay lit in the wind and place the jars all over the yard - on the tables; as pathways; in pretty clusters out and about the space; hanging from the trees or from the hooks we use for hanging Christmas lights from the eves. They're a great alternative to the paper sack and sand lanterns (though I adore those too) as the jars are reusable and more versatile - hanging the bags from trees is an effort in futility, trust me.
Get your candle holders and new party glasses at any of our ACE stores: Palo Alto, Willow Glen, Half Moon Bay or San Mateo. (You're also welcome to use them for canning, especially if you bring us some of the fruits of your labor.)
- Jocelyn Broyles
