Mason Jar Pumpkin Candy Jar with #MyFavoriteBloggers

Remember last month’s Apple themed greeting cards from #MyFavoriteBloggers?  This month, the theme was “Pumpkins”, and I finally got to create a fall craft!  Somehow, I’ve just never gotten around to making anything for fall.  I’m not a huge fan of Halloween, and last year, my dad was sick, so I kind of just skipped the whole season.  I mean, I like the season itself – the cool weather, the glorious leaves in the Hudson Valley, and the anticipation of cozy fire-lit nights (before you just get really really tired of the cold weather).  So, this is sort of my first fall craft – a Mason Jar Pumpkin Candy Jar! Can I say “jar” twice in the title?

Anyways, this was my contribution to the Pumpkins theme with My Favorite Bloggers.  More of us participated this month, and boy, these projects are fantabulous!  Here are our lovely faces and a sneak peek at the awesomeness of our Pumpkin round-up.  After you check out the tutorial for my pumpkin candy jar, be sure to stop by the other blogs in this group to ooh and ahh over their pumpkin goodies!

Kirsten from One Tough Mother, Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects, Marilyn from 4 You With Love, Sky from Capital B, Tara from Suburble, Bethany from Pitter and Glink, Melanie fromIt Happens in a Blink, Lauren from The Thinking Closet, Kara from Petals and Picots, Carlee from Ladybird Ln, ChiWei from 1 Dog Woof, Kadie from 7 Alive, Amy from One Artsy Mama, Sarah from Repeat Crafter Me and Nancy from Small Things with Love

I admit it took me a couple of tries to flesh out my ideas for this craft, since I wanted to incorporate some crafty trends in this project, but still keep it functional.  I tend to like the really unique, slightly weird crafts, but this time around, I wanted to use the ever-popular twine/mason jars/burlap and give it a basic rustic feel.  It totally doesn’t match the decor of my house, but you just gotta try something different every once in a while, you know?  And you know what, it ended up really cute, and holds enough chocolate Halloween candy within easy reach of post-dinner (or anytime) snacking, so I’m pretty pleased!  Here’s how you can make your own little “autumn” (or rather, “awesome”) goody jar!

Tutorial for Mason Jar Pumpkin Candy Jar

Supplies

small mason jar – a few bucks
jute twine – $1 from the dollar store
scrap of white burlap – $3/yd
decorative leaf – $3 for a sprig of fall decor
20 gauge jewelry wire – a few bucks
wood stick – free!
hot glue gun, of course!

Instructions

1. Saw off the bottom of your wood stick so it’s somewhat flat – it’ll make it easier to glue onto the mason jar lid.

2. Create a few wire curls by wrapping 20 gauge jewelry wire around a thick pen or marker.  Make some small ones or big ones – whatever floats your boat!

3. Create the top of the pumpkin by hot gluing the wire curls and a leaf to the wood stick stub.  Wrap some jute twine or string around the whole ensemble to keep it in place.  You can also glue it the twine in place for extra hold.

4. Glue the decorative stick ensemble to the top of the mason jar lid.

5. Glue the lid to the to the mason jar rim.  This was a little tricky, so I just put a few dots of hot glue in enough places to hold it somewhat together.

6. Wrap the entire lid in jute twine, hot gluing the twine to the lid as you go.  It’s a bit slow and a bit tedious and requires quite a bit of hot glue, but that’s what crafting is!

Boom, your lid is done!

7. Cut a circular piece of white burlap that can be gathered around the mason jar.

8. Gather the fabric around the mason jar and secure it with more jute twine.  I used a taut hitch knot that I’ve used in other posts, like my diaper tricycle tutorial, to secure the burlap, then wrapped more twine around and tied it with a regular square knot.

9. Take a few minutes to clean up the pleats in the burlap – make sure they’re all facing the same way, reduce bunching, give it a little puff on the bottom – you know, stage it!

10. The best part – fill it with candy.  Sneak a couple pieces while you’re at it!

Man, you should have seen the smile on J’s face when I opened the “pumpkin” up and he realized it was full to the rim with chocolates.  And he finished his dinner in blessed quiet so he could have a piece for dessert!

Here are the other pumpkin posts from #MyFavoriteBloggers – now go send them some love!