Etched Glass Jars

Posted on November 26, 2012 by CraftyStaci

I’ve wanted to try glass etching for years. It just never seemed to make it to the top of the list and, frankly, I thought it was harder than it actually is. Apparently this was the year, because after buying the wrong product, then using the right product on the wrong type of glass, I finally nailed it. I want to etch everything now.

I found these jars at the dollar store and decided for the price it wouldn’t be a big deal if I ruined them. They had that nice framed area on each side that was just begging for embellishment.

I used this Armour Etch glass etching cream. You’ll know you have the right stuff if it has warnings on every side that basically say not to touch it, breathe it, stick it in your eye or look at it wrong. Oh, and it may be fatal. Fun times.

To make the stencil, I used some ugly, old Contact paper. I guess there was a day I didn’t think it was ugly, since I own it, but this is not that day.

I cut out the stencil with a razor knife.

I peeled off the backing and applied the sticky side to the jar. If your design is very complex or your glass is very curved, it takes a bit of patience to get the stencil on straight.

I applied a generous coat of etching cream inside the stencil.

The instructions on the jar say to leave it on for one minute, but after the glass block fiasco, I left it on for an hour to be safe. I don’t know if it helped, but it didn’t hurt. I also wiped a bit off to make sure it had worked before washing the whole thing.

I did have a few small spots that didn’t etch, so I carefully brushed cream onto those areas and let it sit for another hour. That did the job for most of it, except for one spot that just wouldn’t take. It isn’t very noticeable, and one out of twelve panels isn’t bad.

My favorite jar turned out to be the one where I etched the negative space around the pictures, instead of the pictures themselves. This is the one I gave to my sister as a hostess gift on Thanksgiving, full of Spiced Chai Tea Mix.

I was curious whether this would work on mason jars, so I tried it on this one. I love it so much I don’t even know what to put in it.

Join me again on Wednesday and I’ll share my Spiced Chai Mix and Salted Caramel Cocoa Mix recipes I used to fill these!

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Refrigerator Pickles

Posted on October 10, 2012 by CraftyStaci

I make dill garlic to give out as Christmas gifts to our friends and family. I’ve been doing this for years, and every year when I spot the fresh dill in the grocery store it’s a mad rush to get everything together and canned before it disappears. This year, I finally planted my own dill.

As luck would have it, it actually grew. As soon as the dill heads started blooming, I panicked. Never having grown my own before, I didn’t know how long it would bloom, or how many it would make. The mad rush was on again.

Those of you who have grown dill already know this, but there was no need to hurry. I made the garlic a month and a half ago, and there’s still dill. I kept looking at it sadly out the window, until I finally decided to try something I’ve always wanted to do: refrigerator pickles.

I’ve canned pickles before, but I’ve never been happy with them. The texture is weird. Pickles should be crunchy, and mine just aren’t, no matter what I do. These little babies, however, are crunchy, a little spicy and delicious. I might not be able to go back to store-bought. These aren’t the same, but I like them better.

Refrigerator Pickles

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced about 3/8” thick (I used a regular, garden-variety cucumber)

1 dill head

1 spring dill leaves

2 whole garlic cloves

2 – 3 slices, jalapeno, serrano or sweet pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dill weed

1/4 teaspoon dill seed

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt, stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Place the rest of the ingredients in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Pour the vinegar mixture over. Finish filling the jar with water. Place in the refrigerator. Wait a day or two before eating. I can’t tell you how long they will last, because mine were gone in about 2 days.

I don’t know if it was necessary, but I shook the jar every time I opened the fridge to redistribute the spices. As usual, I made my husband an extra-spicy jar by adding extra pepper slices, another 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes and, after putting on my hazmat suit, 1/4 teaspoon of ghost pepper powder.

I don’t know what I’m going to do when all my dill is gone, but I’ll definitely be planting it again next year!

Mint Mojito Jelly

Posted on September 5, 2012 by CraftyStaci

When I planted mint between my front yard and driveway, I was told I was crazy. It would take over and I’d have mint everywhere. Well, crazy or not, that was exactly my intention. I have a huge mass of the stuff every year and it smells wonderful. A pleasant side effect is that with the abundance of mint I have I can play with it as much as I like.

I can dill garlic every year in late August or early September, because that’s when fresh dill is available. We give it out as Christmas gifts to anyone we know that wants some – and I’m up to about five dozen jars. Whew.

When my daughter helps me, we usually end up making some jelly or jam as well. We’ve make mint before, but this year we decided to change it up a bit and make some reminiscent of a mint mojito. If you’re not familiar, it’s a drink flavored with mint and lime. You can’t go wrong with lime.

Mint Mojito Jelly

2 cups fresh mint leaves
8 cups water

Bruise mint leaves a bit with a fork or by twisting. Add to the water in a saucepan. Boil over high heat until reduced by half to 4 cups of liquid. Mine took about 20 minutes. And my house smelled fantastic.