Repurposed glass jars for something special

Do you ever see something in a store or at the mall that provides inspiration for your own interpretation of an item or set of items?

Over the holidays, my daughters and I spent a couple of mornings at our local mall, where I was struck with the appeal of some filled jars on a ledge of a kiosk. I won't give away what was in those jars just yet. Anyway, I thought "gee, I need to get me some of them neato jars." My two daughters were with me that morning and agreed that my idea would be awesome. Once home I found that I had 6 of these square Lemon Curd jars, which looked to be perfect for my little project.

The obstacle (as always with repurposed jars) is the labels, front and back and very well-adhered to the glass. However, these jars are square, which means the labeled sides would rest flatly in a shallow dish of rubbing alcohol. Just before heading out to run errands I placed 4 of the jars in a glass dish with a small amount of isopropyl alcohol. When I came home I used a metal scraper to remove the bulk of the label on the underside, and then flipped the jars over. After removing the paper part of the labels I continued to soak the jars for a little longer, until I could use a cloth to rub off any sticky residue. I ran the jars through the dishwasher and I now have 6 wonderful square jars for filling.

Come back on Monday to see what these are now filled with.

The rubbing alcohol is reusable. I put what was still in the dish into a glass jar to use another time.

Happy New Year!

Greetings, friends!

I woke up to this on Christmas morning!

It has been several weeks since I posted last. I wasn't ready to come back until this week. December was a bittersweet month. Some sadness, some joy. But January is here, and a new year of hope is upon us. Even without losing a friend or providing support for a family member's illness, December is always a difficult month for me. Life feels like it gets narrower in December. In contrast, January ushers in an openness and broad expanses of possibilities. And so, I am very grateful to be in the new year.

My January "Haul" 

This morning was Senior Discount Day for me. One daughter was home with me so the two of us did the shopping together. January's grocery shopping should be much more frugal than November's and December's. I took advantage of several coupons, stacked with discount on store-brand products, and spent $51.42. I'll also need to make 1 trip to Cash & Carry for a couple of items. Even so, I don't think I will spend more than $150.00 on food for the month. I spent a lot in December, so I hope to make up for some of the overspending in the early months of 2018. We're off to a great start! On the 1st, we went to Goodwill and I spent a grand total of 28cents (something for next Christmas), one daughter bought nothing, and the other bought a jacket (her money, not mine). And today, the daughter who came shopping with me treated me to lunch out. (We split a burger and fries at our local Shake 'N Go.)

I'm back to posting on my blog, but for the next few weeks, I will likely post just a few times per week. I hope that you had a lovely holiday and are primed for 2018. Happy new year!