50 Jar Gifts: idea #43 – Snowman Mason Jar

Posted on December 26, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Snowman Mason Jar from polkadotchair.com

Here is another fun and simple idea from the polkadotchair.com. My plan was to post this on Monday but the week got away from me with finishing Christmas gifts for family and friends. Boy I am sure out of practice with getting posts done. But even though I didn’t get this posted before Christmas the snowman theme is good for at least a few more weeks. Does your family have some fun traditions centered around snow or making snowmen? This jar idea would be a great way to share a story or invite your family to a snow themed event. Several years ago when we were in the mountains cutting down our Christmas trees we found a huge snowball that someone had made. We had lots of fun climbing on it and taking some family photos.

Raelyn & Bill sitting on the giant snowball with Shadow & Ginger looking on

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #42 – Elf Mason Jars

Posted on December 20, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

from polkadotchair.com

Here is another fun and simple jar gift idea from Melissa at polkadotchair.com, this time with a Christmas elf theme. I love how just a few simple items come together for a great jar gift. Click on the image above for step by step instructions and a free printable tag.

Maybe since my parents referred to themselves as Santa’s elves, I think of elves and service together. Most of us probably see elves as hard workers who help others. This gift idea could give you the chance to share a tradition of secret service during the holidays or a way to start a new tradition of being Santa’s elves as a family.

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #41 – Santa Jar

Posted on December 19, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

from polkadotchair.com

Time is running out and Christmas is almost here so I thought some simple jar gift ideas would be perfect over the next few days. I love this idea.So simple yet effective. Click on the photo above for step by step instructions and a printable for the tag.

This would also be a great time to share your memories and family traditions around Santa. Growing up my parents didn’t do much to encourage a belief in Santa Claus. I remember them saying they were Santa’s helpers. How did your parents handle Santa? Do you do pretty much the same or do you have new traditions?

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

Candy Window: Ferris wheel update

Posted on October 27, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Late Saturday night Bill came in from the garage and said “you need to come see this.” I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. He had the spokes of the Ferris wheel on the stand plus the cars attached and they were spinning around. Not with the motor yet but with a little push the wheel turned smoothly around. It was so exciting to see that much of it come together! To see for the first time the basic structure of what we are trying to put together! I took a video but I’ll have to upload it later and share it here. [I’ve uploaded it. Just click on the image above and it will take you to the video!]

Also on Saturday, I finished all the faces of the figures. I forgot to take photos and didn’t realize it until just now. I’ll have to do that tomorrow and add them too. Then I looked at how many weeks are left until we need to install the window, just 5 weeks, and figured out how many things I need to get done each week to be ready. I’ve committed to the South Jordan Youth Council to work on the window every afternoon so hopefully more of them can come and help. From my calculations if I get one object done each day I’ll be ready. That will be tough without help from the Youth Council. My goal for today was to finish Olaf. I had a crazy morning but I worked hard on Olaf this afternoon and evening but didn’t get him finished, but I came really close.

It will be revealing how much gets accomplished this week. I’ll let you know next Monday if I’m confident, hopefully or in a panic about the next few weeks.

Candy Window: fondant faces update

Posted on October 20, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

I finally figured out how to do the faces for the figures. Yeah! The first one I did was the Nutcracker and I didn’t like how he turned out but wasn’t sure what to do about it. He just looked old and not very happy. Bill suggested that the fondant was to bumpy. I was pretty sure this from the texture of the Styrofoam base.

Nutcracker

So taking that into account I tried again with man. I put some extra fondant down for his cheeks, forehead, chin and nose. This was to give the flat form of the Styrofoam more of the shape of a face. Then I rolled out a really thin sheet of the fondant (it is actually half fondant and half gum paste) and laid that over the whole face area. I smoothed that out and did a little adjustment to the shaping. Next step was to roll out a thicker layer of skin colored fondant and put that down over the other two layers.So far so good, I was feeling hopeful at this point.

man

After smoothing that out, I added his ears, a nose, cut in a mouth and poked holes through the fondant for his eyes. I widened the eye holes out a bit and put in two small balls of white fondant and patted that down into an eye shape. Next came two small green balls of fondant for his iris that I smooshed flat and finally two tiny black balls for the pupils, also smooshed flat. I like how he came out! I also got the woman done. There is hope after all! When I get the rest of the faces done, I will probably go back and do the Nutcracker over. But I’ll wait in case time gets critical and I can’t get it done.

woman

We had five kids from the Youth Council come on Saturday. The cars for the Ferris wheel are almost all covered on the outside with licorice. Bill got the pillow blocks for the Ferris wheel axle. The batteries for his drill died so he went to get some new ones and ended up with a new drill. Same price as buying two batters plus it included a charger. Then he got called back into work so he only made a little progress. Bill is thinking about taking a couple of days off this week so he can get some more time in on the Ferris wheel.

Candy Window: update

Posted on October 13, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Grinch and Max ready for candy

The figures are ready for their faces. I’m trying a fondant/gum paste mixture this year instead of straight fondant. The gum paste is supposed to give the fondant more stretch. This is a key part of the window. If the faces look good the window should be a success. If the faces turn out bad it is hard to make up for it else where. I’ve not done faces on this scale before. I’ve done bigger and I’ve done smaller. Feeling a bit intimidated about getting started but just need to dive in and get going. After I get the first one done, I should feel better about things.

two kids ready for candy

Bill ended up working all night Friday and all day Saturday so no progress on the Ferris wheel structure. But I sorted through the candy that the Youth Council kids picked out for the figures and made a few adjustments because of scale or color issues. I hope they don’t mind too much. I also order some more candy. I need to pick up some chocolate and yellow licorice for hair and then we should be in pretty good shape to move forward with all the candy.

man and woman ready for candy

50 Jar Gifts: idea #35 – pancake mix

Posted on October 9, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

image from passionforsavings.com

Jar Gift Idea #34 inspired me to focus on pancakes for idea #35. While not many use sourdough starters in the everyday life, pancakes have a rich tradition in many households. When I think of pancakes, it reminds me of my Dad. I don’t know if he was always the one to cook the pancakes in the morning by the time I was a teenager it had developed into a tradition. Just today when I was talking to my Dad he mentioned needed to go get some more pancake mix. Now days my Dad does all the cooking (my Mom has Parkinson’s) but then it was mostly my Mom other than for pancakes.

image from thepinningmama.com

What are your memories of pancakes and family? Are there some fun stories to share? Stir up a batch of pancake mix and share it along with a memory to someone in your family. Or have a family gathering and serve pancakes (some families eat pancakes for dinner too). Then send each household home with their own jar of pancakes mix. A great way to make new memories and call to mind old ones.

image from cheekykitchen.com

Can’t think of any “pancake” memories? Why not start a new tradition involving pancakes. You can keep it simple or dress it up with fun flavors or fancy toppings. The possibilities are endless.

image from bettycrocker.com

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #34 – sourdough starter

Posted on October 7, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

This post marks my 1000th post since I started blogging. Wow, that kind of blows my mind. Thanks to all my loyal regulars. I really appreciate your hanging in there with me as I figure out just what this blog is all about.

image from tipnut.com

Is someone in your family famous for their sourdough bread and/or pancakes? Wouldn’t it be a great gift to share a start from that family sourdough to other family members? You’d want to include the recipe and instructions for caring for the start of course. What a great opportunity to share a family legacy to the next generation along with stories and memories of good food and company.

While my family has no such tradition that I know of my husband loves sourdough bread. I tried sourdough started a couple of years ago but didn’t keep it up well and finally let it go. I still have some of the original dry started that I order off the internet so I might start it up again sometime. But several months ago a neighbor taught a class on natural yeast, similar to sourdough but you keep it in the fridge. Natural yeast has a rich pioneer heritage and keeping it in the fridge makes it much more forgiving to neglect. I’ve made pancakes, muffins and pizza dough with good success. My first attempt at bread wasn’t good so I’ll have to try that again.

But either sourdough or natural yeast are great for sharing in a jar. You can do it straight or dry out some starter and create a starter kit with the jar included for reconstituting your start. If you don’t have a starter of your own and can’t find a friend with an active starter you can get a dried starter from various sources on the internet or follow the directions to make your own.

image from armommy.com

natural yeast image from foodstoragemoms.com

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

Candy Window: update

Posted on October 6, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Bill with the Ferris wheel – so far

Another week closer to Christmas. Hopefully we made enough progress too. Bill finished the spokes of the other side of the Ferris wheel on Saturday and the basics of the A-frame to hold it up. He found a motor and gears at Granger this week too. The didn’t have the right size of pillow blocks though. The figures are painted and the additions of pelon are done though they still need painting. I also picked up some fondant and something new to try, gum paste for the faces etc. Five kids from the South Jordan Youth Council came on Saturday and made good progress on putting candy on the cars.

This week I’m working on the faces for the figures and we will see how far I get. In may only be early October but time is starting to feel really short. Sometimes I feel a bit of panic at how much needs to get done. Then I try to take a deep breath and focus on putting in some time everyday and see how much gets done.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #33 – hot drinks

Posted on October 2, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

80+ drink mix recipes from Budget101.com

It sure felt cold here today. Summer is a thing of the past (and the distant future) and cold weather has me longing for something warm to drink. I have memories of hot chocolate with graham crackers, hot lemon and honey (for colds). I also remember my Grandma liking Postum. I didn’t think too much of that but it reminds me of her. My Dad likes the hot cider mixes. As an adult I’ve done all kinds of hot concoctions to try to warm myself up. Today I did a lime and honey drink. What memories do you have of warm drinks on cold days? Here are a few ideas for packaging hot drink mixes.