Mason jar themed gifts...

It's a new month over at Gossamer Blue and the line up of kits is fantastic.  Using mostly the Bits & Pieces Kit, I created a set of six mason jar themed gifts.  I might have a little luncheon for some retired ladies or at the very least, I'll have some nice gifts ready in my stash.

I started out with some drawstring bags that I got at Michael's.  I layered up all of the adorable mason jar tags and filled them with sequins and punched paper flowers.  

 I stamped on some congratulations type stamps from the set in the Main Kit.  Definitely well suited for retirement gifts or just a fun little gift in general.  I tied on baker's twine from my stash and used a brown safety pin to attach the tags to the cloth bags.

 Next I used the strawberry stamp in red ink and stamped them into a mason jar stamp from Michael's.

 I used various patterned papers from the 6 x 6 paper pad plus added Washi tape and some enamel stickers to each card front.  More images from the Main Kit stamp set were added to the cards.

 Reaching into my stash again, I grabbed some cello bags that I can use to hold a few candies or perhaps a baked treat.  I punched a mason jar from a punch I got at Target, outlined the jar image, then stamped on the "YAY" sentiment.

 I attached the jars to the sacks with more of the pretty October Afternoon Washi tape.  The giant clothespins were from Michael's in that cheap section.

 From my coveted collection of jams that I've been canning this season, I chose six of my prized Strawberry Peach Jams.

Each jar was topped with a punch circle label with some Washi tape underneath. 

Here's a little look at what a recipient might receive.  The cards will be tucked into the cloth bag.  If I do a luncheon this ensemble will probably top the plates.  Otherwise, it all might be tucked into a Kraft handled sack with a strip of torn vintage sheet for wrapping.

 Until then I'll just tuck all my goodies into my wire basket and them upon a shelf.

I hope you're inspired to create some gifts of your own.  Handmade....and homemade....is always best in my opinion.  Have fun!

Be sure to check out the Gossamer Blue Design Team galleries over at the website.  The projects are just oozing with amazing-ness.

Homemade Peach Jam Jars..

Hello there.  I'm sharing a cheery little project today made fresh from my kitchen.  I grabbed a few of my homemade peach jam jars off the shelf and embellished them with items from my 1970-Something Kit + a few items from the April Gossamer Blue kits (which go on sale today).  

I used the vintage strip of fabric from the kit + a trimmed down tag to make some cute packaging for my peach jam jars.  I typed the label using my vintage typewriter.  The wood veneer and enamel dot are from the Gossamer Blue kits.

I found the vintage, peach gingham fabric at a local thrift shop.  On top of the jars, I adhered the cute wood veneer embroidery hoop pieces from the Bits & Pieces Kit from the April Gossamer Blue kits. Such a fun little addition that gives my jars even more of homespun look.

I'll sit these on the shelf and keep them for just the right person.  They'd be cute as a last day of school gift for some of my favorite teachers and secretaries at the school, along with a little jar of fresh flowers.

Note:  Recipes are from the pectin boxes and Pinterest.  Enjoy!

Tray Tuesday....Strawberry Jam

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Tray Tuesday.  It's a new series here on the blog where I show you what I have my tray.  I use trays for everything & have quite the little collection going so here goes.  Today I've got homemade Strawberry Jam on a cute red, vintage tray.  

I've been canning so much this Summer that I haven't had time to make room on my shelves for more canned goods.  Until then I have jars of sweet goodness sitting around on my dining room table and everywhere.

I can't seem to grow strawberries very well where I live so I always buy them from the store when they're nice and ripe.

There's nothing like having a jar of fresh jam, bursting with ripened fruit flavor and homemade goodness.

The jars are so pretty too.  If these make it til Christmas, I think they'd make very cute gifts for neighbors and friends.  Maybe include a loaf of freshly baked bread or some scones.

Full of juicy strawberry flavor, this photo just makes my mouth water.

For all of my simple fruit jams and jellies, I typically use the recipes included in the fruit pectin boxes.  They are tested and never seem to fail me.  Here's the recipe I used for my Strawberry Jam today.  This is a canned jam using the water bath method of preservation. Enjoy!

I'd love to hear what's on your tray today.  Feel free to leave a link or comment in the comments section below.  If you follow along on Instagram (mishwooderson), feel free to use the hashtag #traytuesday to show me what's on your tray.

I've recently listed some vintage trays in my shop.  Here's just a few samples.....

These black trays are quite striking.  A little worn and chippy but would be so cute with mason jars lined up or filled with craft supplies

Aluminum trays are understated but go with about everything.  I like to place little jello molds on these to hold small bits and pieces of paper kits.

Round trays are always fun to use to serve drinks in mason jars or just grab a tray while you're working on a craft project.  Place a vintage napkin on top and pile high with homemade muffins or cookies.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a great day!

Sweet & Sour Pickled Peppers and Onions

Back to share my favorite new canning recipe that I discovered this Summer.  May I introduce to you Sweet & Sour Pickled Peppers and Onions.  This makes a beautiful canned presentation and it's so delicious too.  I'll definitely be making this every year now come garden season. 

If there's a few things I can grow well in my garden it's peppers, onions and jalapenos.  The colored peppers....I still have to buy those as I haven't found good varieties for these yet.  The color is very important if you care about presentation and how pretty your jars look on the shelf.  

 This recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest magazine called Canning (preserving + freezing + drying).  I found my copy at Walmart and just saw them on the shelves still today while grocery shopping.  I'll share my adapted recipe at the end of the post.

The recipe calls for red, green, yellow and/or orange sweet peppers.  I also threw in a few jalapenos and some pepperoncini peppers because they were plentiful in the garden.  The colorful mix is really the key to this recipe.

I followed the recipe almost exactly as called for otherwise.  I stuffed all the peppers and onions into the jars, leaving the appropriate head space.  

You can see how beautiful the jars look already.  I like to overstuff my jars a bit because when you add the hot liquid the peppers will shrink down a little.  Otherwise when the jars are cooled the veggies float to the top and there's a lot of liquid at the bottom of the jar with no veggies. 

Here's the jars filled with the vinegar liquid mixture.  I love seeing the seeds and peppercorns in this mix.  It looks so fancy.  You can see here that I put a few jalapeno slices on the tops of these jars.  

 Here's the jars straight out of the canning pot.  So bright and crisp looking.

 Alas, that color doesn't last but the jars are still beautiful and filled with colorful veggies.

I know we will go through these like crazy so I've already made a second batch. I'll see what comes from the garden yet and may make a third batch.  These would make great Christmas gifts or be perfect to take to tailgate parties, etc.  

For some recipe ideas, so far we've tried the pickled mixture on pulled pork with coleslaw and BBQ sauce. The veggies stayed crunchy and the vinegar gave a little zip to the sandwiches. 

 Simple hotdogs take on a whole new meaning now.  My husband gave this a two thumps up so it's definitely a keeper recipe.

Here's the recipe that you can copy and paste into a word document if you want to print:

Sweet & Sour Pickled Sweet Peppers and Onions

from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Canning (preserving + freezing + drying) ...adapted by Michelle Wooderson

3 pounds red, green, yellow and/or orange sweet peppers, sliced into bite size strips ( I add jalapeno and pepperoncini too)

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (can add more if you like more onion)

4 cups sugar

4 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

2 cups cider vinegar

1 tablespoon celery seeds

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

4 cloves garlic, smashed

4 bay leaves

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

Combine pepper strips and onions in large bowl.  Set aside. In cooking pot combine all other ingredients.  Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.  Reduce heat to low.  Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.  Discard garlic (I left mine in) and bay leaves.  Pack pepper-onion mixture into hot sterilized pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Pour hot vinegar mixture into jars, maintaining the 1/2 inch head space.  Discard any remaining vinegar mixture.  Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.  Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling).  Remove jars from canner.  Cool on wire racks.  Wait for the "ping" sound of sealed jars. Rejoice.  Enjoy.  Makes 7 pints. 

Recipe ideas:  Use as topping for hotdogs, chili dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, sloppy joes, roast beef or salads.  Chop and add to meatloaf, hamburgers or potato salads.  

Summer canning...55 jars of homemade goodness

Summer around here means tending to the garden, pulling weeds, keeping everything watered and then waiting for everything to grow and ripen.  It's that time so I've been busy canning.  I wasn't quite sure I'd find a canning pot that would work with my induction top stove but I found this large size, stainless steel one at Walmart.  Works like a charm.  If you use an induction top stove, just make sure you see the induction compatible icon on the sticker.  Then you'll know you're good to go.

Good canning supplies and clean jars are a must.  I use only sterilized jars that are meant for canning.....no mayonnaise jars or cleaned up pickle jars.  Usually I stick with Ball or Kerr and Ball lids.  I like Certo Sure Jell for my liquid pectin but I tried the powdered version this Summer with good results too.

There's always a little pan of simmering water ready to warm up the lids.  This is key as it gets the rubber on the lids softened and makes for a perfect seal every time. First up was the fruits and Peach Jam.  My local grocery store had some nice, ripe fruit this year that was really sweet.

 This is a favorite and probably reminds me of Summer the most come Winter time. Nothing like it on homemade biscuits.

 My mom always freezer Strawberry Jam but I opted to can mine.

 My jars ended up a little foamy but there was just too much to scrape off.  Tastes just as good on some toast made from homemade bread.

These little jars of Blueberry Peach Preserves will be yummy warmed up and poured over a bowl of vanilla ice cream....or over homemade yogurt with granola.

I spent two full days in the kitchen canning.  Temperatures were very mild so I didn't mind heating up the kitchen for a while.  My kitchen usually looks like this during canning season.  The stove is a boiling, sticky or bubbly mess, the countertops are lined with clean towels and cooling jars.  There's fresh picked zucchini, cucumbers and the like laying around....and there's always that wonderful sound to any canner's ears....the pop, pop, pop of sealing jars. 

Next up I moved on to some sweet green peppers that I picked from the garden.  I purchased the colored varieties at the store. 

 This beautiful mixture is Picked Peppers & Onions with a garlicky/peppery brine.  I added in a few jalapeno slices for a little heat. I plan to dump these over a roast, use on hamburgers or maybe mix some into some salads.  Lots of possibilities here.

 Loved how these turned out straight from the canner.  So bright and fresh looking.

 As always, the heat always turns the veggies a little muted color but these are still so pretty.  I might even enter one of these in the fair this year....just to relive my 4-H days.

Next I picked a variety of hot peppers from the garden.

I was just about out of Candied Jalapenos.  My family loves these over cream cheese with crackers, some dips and in Chili with a cool dollop of sour cream. 

 These are more mild pepperoncini peppers. I sliced some and left some whole.  I'll use these over salads and will dump some over roasts in the slower cooker this Winter.

 That's my beautiful bounty so far.  55 jars of homemade goodness.

It feels so rewarding to grow your own garden goodies, preserve them in fun ways....and then reap the fruits of your labor come Fall and Winter.  All the sweat and hard work pays off.  I have lots of veggies still in the garden so most likely I'll be canning up more jars for Christmas gifts this year.  

Haven't tried canning?  Think it's too hard?  It's not.....just get the right supplies, use fresh ingredients, follow the instructions exactly and you'll be on your way.  Hope you give it a try and that we start a new canning revolution!