Crafty

            So last night, my friend, Olivia, and I wanted something fun to do, and something that we've never done before. We searched Pinterest for about an hour, and came up with two things: Chocolate-chip cookies with a hidden Oreo-creamcheese center, and some mason jar crafts. You can find the recipe and pictures for the cookies later today on my recipe blog, www.inthekitchenwithmaddie.blogspot.com . The cookies are AMAZING. They might sound weird, but with a big glass of milk, they are perfection.

I don't usually post crafts on here, but this one is so simple, and so pretty, that I just couldn't help but to share it. Olivia and I saw these on Pinterest, and immediatly loved them and knew we wanted to experiment with the mason jar-candle idea. We made a bunch of different candles, and then we also made mason jar drinking mugs, with straw-holes.

First up: The mugs! 

We thought that these would be really cute and rustic-looking in the summer-time, with a bright-colored drink inside, and a cute decorative straw to go with!

To Make These: 

All you need is a mason jar, any size that you would like, and some decorative straws.

You'll need a drill, and a sanding tool to create the hole for the straw. 

Directions: 

Make a dot with a sharpie marker or a pen on the lid to indicate where you would like your straw-hole. Drill a hole about 2 sizes bigger than your actual straw's width. 

Sand the edges of the hole until smooth. 

Next up: The Candles!

These are absolutely gorgeous, and relaxing, to say the least!

The picture doesn't do these candles justice, either. (also considering that I took them with my iPhone!)

We made 3 different types of candles, all fairly easy to make! 

They made me feel so relaxed, just looking at them is entertainment for me.

Hopefully you can view this video!

This gives you an idea of how beautifully the candles glow. 

These make great gifts!

To Make: 

You'll need 4 mason jars, one for each type of candle. 

You'll also need: 

*An old book that you don't mind cutting a few pages out of.

*Rustic-looking string

*Scissors

*Glue; I used "Tacky- all purpose" glue. 

* Fish-bowl beads- Sorry I don't know the exact name of them, but they are flat on one side and round on the other.  (Any color you want.)

*Tea-light candles

*Tin Foil 

*Candle holders. 

To make the book page heart candles:

Cut a book page or two out of an old book, and cut the page in half, or however tall your mason jar is. Fold the page in half, length-wise, and cut a half-heart shape on the crease. This will make a full-heart. 

Glue the page(s)  around the outside of the mason jar, tie string around top of the jar. Place a tea-light in the bottom of the jar, light, and enjoy. 

To Make Beaded Candles: 

Glue the "fish bowl" Beads around the outside of a jar, in a neat pattern or randomly. Glue one side of the jar at a time, and after one side is glued with beads, wrap in tin foil until the side has dried completely. Glue beads on the next side, and repeat until the jar is covered in beads. Once completely glued and dried, wrap string around top of the jar and tie in a bow. Put a tea light  in the bottom of the jar and light. 

Beaded Candles Option 2: 

In a mason jar, place about an inch of fish-bowl beads on the bottom of the jar. Next, place a candle-holder on top of the beads, and surround the candle-holder with more beads until desired look. Tie string around top of jar, and place a tea light in the candle holder. Light and enjoy.