The "Packaging" for the Hand-Knit Cosmetic Cloths

Last week, when talking about the washable make-up removal cloths that I was knitting, I mentioned that I had an idea in mind for the packaging.  Well, here it is. I used glass peanut butter jars and lids, a couple of knobs leftover from a furniture refinishing project, some brushed silver spray paint, and apothecary labels made with free vintage images from Graphic's Fairy. My thought is the cloths could be stored in a stack in a drawer, and the jars can be used to store the damp cloths after they have been used before my daughters add them to their laundry.

Here's how I revamped the jars:

 

After scrubbing the labels off the jars, I began working on the lids. I think the hardest part of the jar makeover was attaching the knobs to the lids. I used a nail and hammer to punch a hole in the center of each lid, then found screws which would be short enough to work with this application. The screws that generally come with cabinet knobs are long enough to pass through a thick panel on a drawer or door front. That long of a screw would be too long for the thin metal of the lid. So I scrounged screws from a box of nails, screws, bolts, etc.

Once the knobs were attached to the lids, I gave them a couple of coats of spray paint. I didn't have a lot of choices with the spray paint. My first choice had been white, but apparently I used all of my white on my last white project. So, my choices were limited to brushed silver, black, brushed gold, glitter purple, and glitter black. I went with the silver, but I also think the black might have looked nice.

I sprayed the lids in the very cold garage, so the paint took extra long to dry. Meanwhile, I began working on the jar fronts. I searched Graphic's Fairy for vintage apothecary labels. They have a pretty decent selection from which to choose. I settled on this Cold Cream label. I printed the label onto ordinary copy paper, cut out, "laminated" with mailing tape, and adhered to the jars with contact cement.

I had planned on dyeing the natural-colored cloths a peachy pink. However, I had a difficult time with the dye. I was using some of the remaining pink and orange dye powders that I also used on the set of bath towels, but the dye job turned out splotchy at best. It was frustrating. After a couple of hours of adjusting the dye, I gave up and removed the dye and lightened the natural to a creamy white. I think they look better, now, as a shade of cream, than they looked as ecru. I mixed the lavender cloths with the cream cloths in each jar. I had thought I would give one color to one daughter and the other color to the other daughter. Changed my mind on that when I couldn't achieve a good dye job on the natural ones.

To go with the cloths, I have two bottles of make-up remover. I went with commercial facial cleanser, but I did check into recipes for DIY solutions. Maybe another time I'll try one of those recipes.

By the way, I am planning on using this idea with the lids to make a couple of canisters for the kitchen counter. I keep instant coffee and cocoa mix on the counter, but the jars could use a little decorative improvement. I'll post photos when that little project is completed.

I also wanted to share a photo of some woven squares that YHF has made. YHF is a textile artist, and I think her work has considerable aesthetic appeal. In the comments last week, YHF mentioned the loom that her husband made for her, and the possibility of weaving make-up removal squares. Here's a sample of her work. Beautiful, don't you think?

The Mess-Free Way to Recycle Spent Jar Candles into New Candles

Again, one of those thoughts, "how can I do this with what I have?"

The other day, I cleaned out an armoire for one of my daughters to use in her room. I found 4 spent candles that had some sort of evergreen scent, some fir, cedar, and pine. There was between 1/4 inch and 1 inch of wax at the bottom of each jar. My goal was to combine the wax from all 4 of the jars into one evergreen-scented candle, and not have a pot to scrub out afterward.

This was so simple. I can't believe I haven't tried this before. I placed the jar candles into my crock-pot and added about 3 cups of water to the pot, enough so that the water level was as high as the wax remaining in the fullest candle jar. I set it on LOW, and left it for an hour.

An hour later, the wax was melted. I removed the jars from the crock-pot and set on a towel.

I poured the melted wax into one of the larger jars and put that jar back in the crockpot to keep the wax liquid and left the other jars on an old towel. I chose another of the larger jars for my candle and wiped it out with a paper towel. I have some candle wicks leftover from making candles many years ago.

I took one of the wicks and dipped the metal end into the melted candle wax then placed it in the center of my cleaned-out jar. Once that wax hardened, I poured the melted wax into the jar, screening out the largest of the burnt wick bits/ash with a plastic fork.

After the wax had set, I trimmed the wick. I now have a candle with about 4 or more burn hours left on it.

One of the bonuses is the cleaned-out candle jars that I have saved for future candles. This particular one, above, was from a Thymes Frasier Fir votive candle. Thymes sells the votive refill candles at a fraction of the price of the votive candle in the container. Next Christmas, I'll buy the refill candles for this container and have a "brand new" holiday candle.

Just to let you know how simple all of this was, I spent way more time writing this post and taking the photos than I spent in hands-on time melting and pouring the spent candles into one container. Using a crock-pot with the candle jars set inside saved me from having to scrape out and wash a wax-coated pot.