Canning Jar Pincushion

Tinkered Treasures

Posted by FW Media

About

Mason jars—long prized for their durability, clean design, and tight-fitting lids—can easily be altered for uses other than food storage. Use to hold sewing notions and add a padded fabric pincushion to keep pins close at hand, or adorn flat lids with paper to showcase dry goods. Purchase a pack—they are cheaper by the dozen—and you’ll have plenty to put to use in every room.

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You Will Need (18 things)

  • Tape
  • Scissors
  • Foam Brush
  • Paint
  • Ribbon and millinery flowers
  • Pretty Paper
  • Thread Spool s or sewing notions
  • Pin(s)
  • Facial Tissues
  • Cotton Balls
  • Fabric
  • Lid (flat lid and screw-on band)
  • Canning Jar with 2-piece metal
  • Pencil(s)
  • Glue Stick
  • Decoupage Medium
  • Paper Plate s for decoupage palette
  • Wax Paper to protect work surface

Steps (6 steps, 60 minutes)

  1. 1

    Remove the 2-piece lid from
    the canning jar and paint the
    screw-on band using latex paint or
    craft paint meant for metal. Let
    dry completely.

  2. 2

    Cut a circle of fabric an
    extra 1in. (2.5cm) bigger in
    diameter than the flat section of
    the lid, and set aside. Gently pull
    apart a few cotton balls, place on
    the reverse of the lid, and form
    into a small mound.

  3. 3

    Cover the mound with a
    paper tissue and test its
    thickness as a pincushion by
    inserting a pin; continue adding
    more cotton balls, if needed.
    Once the pad is thick enough to
    hold a pin, secure the tissue
    underneath the lid with tape.

  4. 4

    Use the circle of fabric to cover the tissue,
    making small snips all along the rounded
    edge so it will fold over to the reverse neatly.
    Secure the edges underneath with tape. Fill the
    jar with sewing notions. Assemble the lid and
    screw onto the jar.

  5. 5

    If you don’t need a pincushion top, omit
    Steps 2–4 and follow Steps 5–6 to
    decoupage the lid instead. Use the flat lid
    to trace a circle onto the pretty paper. Cut
    out the marked circle, apply the glue stick to
    the reverse of the paper, and affix to the top
    of the lid, pressing firmly into place.

  6. 6

    Apply a coat of decoupage medium to
    the paper and smooth out any bumps.
    Let dry and then fill the jar with colorful
    collections. Create a tasteful vignette by
    decorating canning jars of various sizes and
    displaying them together as a group.

    TINKER TIP Avoiding getting the
    decorated lids wet.

    FANCY THIS Wrap jars with a band of
    ribbon and tie in a knot or bow. Tuck a
    sprig of millinery flowers close to the knot.
    Tinker spools of thread for your
    pincushion jar by cutting squares of pretty
    labels, punching a hole in the center,
    sticking to the ends of a spool, and
    trimming to fit.