Apocthecary Spice Jars

I love old apothecary jars like those used in antique pharmacies so I decided to make my own. Here are my finished jars; directions for making them follow.

 I collected multiple glass cylinder containers at my local thrift store, making sure that they were more or less the same height. I searched out large round corks to fit, which proved much harder to find. I finally found a source from a kitchen supply store in Napa priced at $4.95 each, bringing the price of each jar to around $7.00.

I designed spice labels on my computer using PhotoShop using the latin names for each spice or herb container, then printing them on high quality 100% cotton antique white resume paper. Using an Exacto razor knife and a straight edge, I cut them to size. The labels are then affixed to the glass cylinder using heavy weight clear packing tape.

 

It is important to make sure the labels line up correctly on the back side, which you can see I failed to do here. Cut the tape slightly larger and wider to protect the edges assuring the labels adhere to the glass cleanly.

 

And once again, here are my spice jars. Everyone who sees them in my kitchen comments on how unusual and beautiful they look. Tell me, what do you think?

A-Tisket… A-Tasket…A Beautiful Lettuce Basket

Some friends of mine just moved into a new home, and I wanted to bring a gift for their housewarming party. They love to cook and to garden, so I came up with the idea of creating a decorative lettuce basket. They loved it!! Just harvest the lettuce and serve. And when the lettuce is finished, the basket can be replanted with flowers or herbs for later use. Here's how I made it.



First, I found a wire basket at the thrift store priced at $3.49. I think it will work out nicely….



I cleaned the basket, then lined it with sphagnum moss along with netting inside to contain the soil. I found lettuce starts at my local nursery costing around $5.00



And again, here is my lettuce basket which was a huge hit! Fresh lettuce leaves in time for dinner. Total Cost: $17.00