Credit: Unsplash
If it fits in a jar, it sits in a jar.
Invented in the 1800s, the Mason jar was designed to be the ideal step in food preservation. A thick glass body with an airtight metal lid, Mason jars could keep preserved foods (relatively) fresh for ages. To this day, Mason jars are still used for holding things like jams, sauces, and pickled vegetables, and they do a darn good job of it. But as many have realized in the last decade, Mason jars aren’t only good at storing food long-term, they’re a linchpin of DIY knick-knacks.
A Mason jar makes a good hand-sized substitute for various larger containers. Don’t have enough flowers to fill up a big vase? Put ’em in a Mason jar. Wanna display some cool colored sands or glitter? Put ’em in a Mason jar. Want to create a cool custom knick-knack with patterns like stained glass? Yep, Mason jar. Actually, on the subject of custom stuff, enterprising folks have created all sorts of things out of mason jars, from ersatz lamps to miniature fish bowls. If you’ve got the idea and the parts, it’ll probably fit in a Mason jar.
Another cool thing about modern Mason jars is that they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and designs. The typical bulb-shaped jars are still around and plentiful, but there are also wide-mouth jars that you can stick more things into, as well as jars with cool wavy patterns printed onto the surface of the glass. Mason jars can also be recycled; if you were using one in the kitchen, but the lid gets warped or the glass cracks, use it as a knick-knack instead.
Yessir, when it comes to decoration, you can’t have enough Mason jars. Well, okay, maybe cap it at around seven or so. As cool as Mason jars are, if you fill your house with them from top to bottom, it’s going to stop being a house and start being a glass blowing shop.
