HANDMADE HOLIDAYS: HOMEMADE JAM WRAPPED UP WITH A BOW AND STAMPED WITH LOVE

You can do this with any jam recipe, but you really should do it with this one because it’s kind of one of the best experiments in my kitchen that didn’t blow up in my face this year. Heck, maybe longer, given how truly adventurous I was with it.

I mean, strawberry jam with no white sugar, sweetened with minimal honey and NO PECTIN?! Unheard of right? Yet totally doable, totally delicious and packed with a hidden superfood that makes it all happen. (Chia seeds, my friends. Oh yes.)

So if you’re willing to take my word for it and you’re into the frugality of making your own Holiday presents for friends and family, especially the edible ones (everyone likes some prettily packaged homemade canned goods. Or at least your friends and family probably do if you’re the type of person who’s into that sort of thing.) Make this jam and then follow these simple instructions on how to package it all up with cheer and just the right amount of glitz, glimmer and understated charm that one would hope for in a jar of crimson red Holiday jam…

Oh, did I mention that the jam is STRAWBERRY LAVENDER jam? Mercy. Yes, get on that action. It’s not too late. If you do it now and make a whole whack, you could get really jiggy with the edible handmade Holiday gift action (a simple jaunt to Pinterest will yield you fantastic results), and present family and friends with baskets of homemade goodies. We’ve made this a tradition in how we gift and if I can proclaim that Trevor actually enjoys doing it, then heck. That’s saying a whole lot because the man simply is not into making stuff in the same way that I am. He codes and makes music like BOOM, but when it comes to DIY projects or cooking, not so much. Except for during the Holidays. The first few years we were together he was totally wary and perhaps even frightened of me; the crazed Christmas lady, but he’s watched over the years in how giving handmade gifts really does touch people in the most wonderful way. (Nope, not like that, we save that for our very special friends. You know who you are.) He’s also a fan of how gentle such endeavours are on his pocket-book.

So. If you plan a little bit in advance and map out a few gifts you’d like to make, you can totally do this. I’ve got your back. Come back here often over the next 6 weeks and join me in my goal to make this our biggest handmade Holiday gift-giving extravaganza yet!

Pretty right? G’won admit it. This here would be minimal effort (except for the jam making part, yea you’re going to have to work for that a little bit), yielding fantastic results. The thing about trying to wrap awkward gifts is that you don’t. 

Especially if you’re going to group some edible wonders together in a basket. Too much fuss.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Some remnant fabric that you adore: cut into big squares (this depends on the circumference on the size of jars you use, so yes – some measuring is involved), or buy a few yards of something fantastic if you have a dozen or more jars to do. I have quite the stash of fabric so it’s as simple as going down to my studio (mess, catch-all for all the things) and pick out what I want. I had this adorable, heavy weight white cotton fabric printed with origami style animals (specifically reindeers!) leftover from my artisan days and the the kids’ curtains in their bedroom. I bought it years ago at Ikea and I’m afraid I used the last of it in doing up my jars. Alas, all good things must come to an end. I tried looking for some for you on the internets for those of you who might have fallen in love with it, no dice. It’s been discontinued. Shame that.
Sequinned Trim: (enough for al your jars) in your choice of colour, although I highly suggest gold, especially if you are going with a white or cream based fabric, which I also suggest. (You want to colour of the jar to pop! Yes I am totally nerding out on you now, who even talks about the colour of a jam jar ‘popping’. Maybe I’m not the only one. If you’re out there, can we be friends?)
Stamp: (and stamp pad, naturally). Again – your choice, but you want something that brings the message home. That you made this because you love them, or in the very least like them or perhaps you are kissing their ass. Whatever it is – I got my awesome stamp here and you can totally hook yourself up too.
Plain manilla shipping tags: you can get crazy and age these with tea bags if you really want but I didn’t do that. Just throwing additional ideas out there for the die-hards with more time than me.
Some micron pens to get font-alicious with: or just a fine-tipped ink pen. Whatever. Don’t judge.
Crimping scissors: for those squares of fabric. I’m negotiable on this but things will look better if you use them, just sayin’
Jars of homemade jam: obviously. 

The rest is pretty straightforward. Place your fabric over the centre top of your jar, while tying the trim around the indented lip of the jar. Knot it one and tie a nice bow through the tag. (That you’ve already written on, describing your goods.)

That’s it people. So easy. It’s all in the making of the jam that the all of the people will fall at your feet over. That and how fabulously non-wrapped it is. A few ooh’s and ahh’s will commence, if you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re not and you’re just as happy to slap some gawdy Costco paper with masking tape on your gifts, then fine. What are you doing here anyways? We can still be friends though, right?