DIY Tags for Mason Jars!

Alright guys, this post is going to start off with a lot of qualifiers. Here we go!

If you're like me and you like canning, and you like giving your delicious canned goods as gifts, you may find yourself looking for a cute easy way to jazz up your jars! So how about trying these super cute tags for mason jars? It's a fun way to bring a little life to them and make them a little giftier.

And hey, even if you don't can, you can always use this basic concept to make cute tags for any old thing! 

Here's what you'll need to make them:

Supplies:

• Tags appropriately sized for your jars and stamp.
• A jar shaped stamp like this one.
• Stamp ink, which is not pictured because some dummy, I can't even begin to know who *ahem*, forgot to put it in the picture.
• A pen that matches your ink. If you're not into matching, totally feel free to use different colors.
• Washi tape in a pattern and color of your choosing.
• Scissors
• Baker's twine. If you have string already lying around you should totally make your own baker's twine using this tutorial over on Radical Possibility!

Step One! 

Apply your washi tape to the edges of your tag. I recommend doing the long sides first, then the short sides, then the diagonals. Be sure to trim off the excess at the ends every time you apply the tape to one of the sides so you can keep everything nice and neat.

Also, be sure to leave plenty of clearance for your stamp! When I placed my tape I would say I set it up so 1/3 of the width was on the front of the tag and the other 2/3 of the width got folded to the back side of the tag.

Step Two!

Press your stamp into your ink and then press your stamp onto the tag.

To help with placement, I usually put the stamp on its end and try to center the design, then rock it down onto the tag. I'm really not great at telling where the stamp is centered on the block so I find this method incredibly helpful!

Step Three!

Write on your tag! I did my best attempt at fancy lettering and wrote the contents of the jar in the jar stamped on the tag (woah.), which in this case was Sour Cherry Preserves. I also always put the best by date on the bottom of the tag so the recipient knows when to use the contents by.

Step four!

Attach your tags to your jars using the baker's twine, tie a bow and call it a day!

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial and hope you will now go forth and make adorable tags for every canning and gifting occasion.

Til next time!

-Becca

P.S. I am clearly a fan of the good old exclamation point. Ya'll would be shocked to see how many are in a post before I edit! Oof.

DIY Appliqued Gift Card

Hey guys!

Today I'm going to show you how to make this super cute appliqued gift card!

Now, I'd love to tell you that this was the exact idea from the beginning and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to, but that would be a big ol' lie!

When I dreamt up this project I was looking to make a lovely homemade gift card for my mama for Mothers Day. I had originally planned to do a card that said "I <3 You Mom!" on the front, and was going to cut the letters out of fabric and sew them on with embroidery floss. And I started it, and it seemed ok at first, but then I realized I'd made the letters too big, and only had room for "I <3 You" and decided, eh, what the heck, I'll just go with it. 

Not too shabby!

Not bad, right? Well, THEN I started stitching the letters on, and boyyyyyyyy what a mess:

Hot Mess.

Alright, so maybe it wasn't quite that bad (those scraps came when I needed something to test adhesives on), but I didn't like it. So, like any determined crafter, I started over!

Here's how to make that cute card pictured up top!

Supplies:

• Blank gift card and envelope
• Fabric scraps (or paper!)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Brush-on Tacky Glue
• Washi tape

Ok! To get started, draw shapes on your fabric scraps and cut them out.

If you are doing hearts, like I did, I would recommend making an assortment of sizes with a variety of fabrics. That way you have more to play with when it's time to work on the layout. As luck would have it, that's the next step!

Take your time on the layout. Really. I futzed around for so long that I think my friend Sarah thought I was crazy, but I'm a stickler for a good layout and am glad I took my time because I loved the result! Once you get a layout you like, take a picture of it. If you don't have a camera handy, make some very faint pencil marks so you can know where everything was. That's going to be important, because the next step is to take everything off of the card.

Then, using your Brush-on Tacky Glue, apply a thin layer of adhesive to the back of your fabric shapes. I did mine one at a time, but you could probably take care of a few at once.

Once the glue is applied, let it dry for a few seconds (this will help avoid the card paper curling), and apply to the gift card.

Once all the hearts have been applied, you're in the home stretch!

The last thing to do is to apply the washi tape to the edges. You'll begin by sticking it to the the face of the card one edge at a time. Start by completing the 2 long edges, then move on to the 2 short edges. It's good to start with the face of the card so you can make sure you're getting an even line. You may want to check your work with a clear ruler as you are sticking it down, but since mine had a pattern that made a nice make-shift guideline, I used that.

Once you have it applied to the front, snip the tape squarely at the corner. Then turn the card over, fold the washi tape and press into place. Snip the ends to make them even with the card.

 

Once the washi tape is applied to all sides, all that's left to do is to let everything dry completely. That, and to write a lovely message for the recipient, seal it up, and give it to them!

And voila! A lovely gift card to give to someone you love!

Til next time!

-Becca

P.S. My mom LOVED the card!