Using Ball Mason Jars at your Wedding

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Miss Mason

The beauty of Mason Jars captures the heart of most women who are planning to get married, more and more brides choosing a vintage wedding as their theme. The beauty of Mason jars is its simplicity and its versatility. They can be used for everything from lightning to favors to decors and a lot more.

Mason Jars Brief History

Mason jars, canning jars or as some people call them Ball jars were invented by John Mason, a tinsmith, in 1858. This inventor never would never thought that his invention is such a big hit with the brides because he only knew and thing that Ball jars is invented to improve the process of preserving and canning food. The two most popular types of Mason jars these days are Kerr and Ball brand both are owned by Jarden Manufacturing. Now you might ask where you can use Ball jars on your wedding.

Mason jars on your Wedding:

As Candle Holders ball jars are great for candle holders for wedding decor. There is a right process to do it. It is your special day so you want to be everything perfect even the tiniest things. This is for your safety to make sure your candle doesn’t go rolling around the jar, anchor it by putting in a layer of sand, pebbles or decorative rocks or colored gems. The great about the Mason jar is they are invented that can stand heat from the canning process. You can dress up your jars in a million different ways, so that it can look prettier as candleholder. You can cover it with beautiful dollies on the outside.

As Favors or Centerpiece you could put anything on jars, candies that has same wedding color, a cookie mix done I pretty layers or make a jelly or jam for all your guests. You can also use the jars for center piece on your wedding, just filled it with wild flowers or rusty looking flowers like sunflowers or daisies. The less fuss the better for these arrangements or you will ruin the rustic and vintage look that you are trying to create.

For being a little creative you surely can create a beautiful design mason jars. If you want the color of the jar to be like the color of your wedding you can color or paint the jar. Just follow the steps on painting the jar and make it light colors. Dark color will look the jar ugly and won’t help your wedding to be drastic as what you wanted.

Posted in Decorating, Why Mason Jars? | Leave a comment

Make Your Own Blue Mason Jars

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Miss Mason

Mason jars are known as fruit jars because they often use s jam jars and commonly used as home canning. Mason jars are made of soda-lime glass, and come in a variety sizes including pint, quart, half-gallon, and cup, as well as in wide mouth and standard mouth openings. I know its tiring to make one while you can buy on the web in different sizes. Handmade is still the best though. And buying is pricey than creating one. If you want to make your own Blue Mason jars you will need some materials to start.

Materials needed:

  • Vitrea 160 in Turquoise
  • Vitrea 160 paint thinner
  • Cheesecloth or an old rag
  • Latex or non latex gloves
  • Bowl for mixing
  • A spoon for measuring
  • Paper towels to place jars on to dry
  • Of course Mason Jars

Steps on making your own Blue Mason Jars:

  1. Mixed the paint and thinner to a ratio of about 25/75 (25% paint, 75% thinner). Since we are using spoon for our measurement. The exact measures will be one spoonful of paint, three of thinner. Mix these together.
  2. Always wear your gloves if you don’t want to ruin those pretty nails. Dip the cheesecloth or rag into the paint and start wiping it onto the outside of the glass. You might notice some streaks, but doesn’t worry too much about them just do your best.
  3. When done, place them upside down to dry for 24 hours. If you are impatient you’ll be sorry this is necessary for the paint to cure.
  4. 24 hours later, pop the jars onto the oven on a cookie sheet for 40 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. After baking your jars, settle it first and let it cool. And whoa! You’ve got your own Blue jars.

You’re done with your Blue Mason Jars, but if you want to get off those streaks you can use fan brush instead. But other says that streaks give the jars its characteristics. I have also found another way to make your jars look like just vintage jar. Use glaze and crystal gloss enamel glass paint. The more glaze the lighter the jar. Pour some in the jar and swish it around until completely mix. Slowly twist the jar while it is on its side until the paint has covered the entire jar, pour into another jar or garbage the extra paint/glaze left. Hold it upside down until stops dripping. Then wipe the top do there is only paint IN the jar and none on the outside. After you have let it drip upside down you need to set it on the counter and wait. You need to let the extra paint that did not drip out, settle to the bottom.

Wait for an hour, if you stick it in the oven too soon it will start to get hot and the paint that is making its way down the side of the jar will harden in ad drippy pattern. Bake you jars on 200 degree for 30 minutes. The result, color is more even and no streaks and crystal clear. Ready to decorate in your office or bathroom.

Posted in Decorating | Leave a comment

What are 13 Ball Mason Jars

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Miss Mason

Most Mason Jar collector knows about the myth on the number 13 of the jar. 13 series were the least amount produced and the most sought after the collectors. During prohibition, special care was made to make sure all the #13 jars were busted because they were superstitious. Collectors frequently refer these numbers as “mold numbers”, some cases this term oversimplifies what the numbers represented.

When jars are blown by hand, the number represented a specific glass blower and his team. At the end of the day the blower and his team would get paid for the amount of jars they produced as determined by the number of jars made with a given number on them. Later, when glass making went to machine the numbers represented the mold or machine the jar was made from (usually 4-8 molds per machine or one to several machines per factory.) That way the plant manager could check quality control, production, etc.

There is a rumor that jars with the number 13 were more valuable because superstitious people were afraid to can in them, broke them or threw them away. However, there is no concrete evidence to back up this claim. Number 13 has lots of superstitions including other countries, not only on the jars but also on dates. People living on Asia are the most superstitious in the world. They believe on everything what had their ancestors has told them either stories or through experiences. We can’t really tell, so far having faith is one of the best superstitions will ever had.

In addition, many distinguished Southern Gentlemen that grew up during the days of moonshine that these bottles were usually broken by the Moonshine Runners because yes they were superstitious and felt like this increased their risk of getting stopped by the law. This tale has been passed on many years by Southern Moonshiners and their runners.

Today you can frequently find numbers on new jars that indicate date of manufacture, plant location, job number, etc. Collectors who have possessions of jars who have number 13 are as lucky as winning a lottery. So if you ever find time to visit your ancestral house look first on your basement, you might find Mason jars with a number 13 on it.

Good Luck!

Posted in Types of Jars, Why Mason Jars? | Leave a comment

How to Find Blue Mason Jars Wholesale

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Miss Mason

If you plan to buy blue mason jars wholesale and want to save money, do some searching online. You can find lots of jars in different colors but if you say that you are looking for exclusive jars on blue color, you prefer the original color and not the handmade color well you might find it hard time and pricey. You can’t really find lots of Blue Mason Jars on one site; you have to order on different online shops to have more Blue jars you want.

I have search online and find one company who sell plenty different shapes and sizes of jars. It was on Nextag Company but they only got quart size mason jars..I think but on clear color. But you can really find Blue jars on sale with whole price online. I have notice that most blue jars that are on wholesale were handmade. But try to look into blogs and you can find people who posted about selling their blue jars and were already use on their wedding and other events but still on its excellent quality. I also found jars on eBay, Etsy, Amazon, with prices ranges from $4 – $16. This shop also offers delivery and Free Delivery.

Tips on buying jars:

  1. After looking for the right jar you want online, you are ready to pay. What are the things you need to know:
    • Contact the customer service of the particular online shop either by phone or email. I’m sure they will answer you mails.
    • Ask for how many days the products will arrives at your door step
    • Ask for their Return Policy. How many days you should return the item for any damages during the delivery from the day you receive the item.
    • Know the refund system and the % you will receive on refunds.
  2. Make sure all your jars are in good condition. Check for any cracks or damages
  3. Email or Alert the online shop when you receive the items.

I hope this helps. Always be sure that the online shop where you found what you want are highly certified and a non-scam company. I don’t want you to lose any money. Mason jars are simple jars yet elegant if you add some decorations or flowers. It can be displayed to reflect a variety of personalities and styles. Often collectors display them in kitchens by placing uncooked pasta inside them or by stacking them in glass-fronted cabinets.

Posted in Decorating, Why Mason Jars? | Leave a comment

Antique Mason Jars as Centerpieces

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Miss Mason

Mason jars are come in a variety of sizes and styles. You decorating style depends on what size you have use: half-pint jar, a pint jar, two-gallon jar, a gallon jar. Mason jars also come in a variety of shapes, you can now choose from slender jars, jars with rounded or squared shoulders. Mason Jars can now be purchased online with a quilted design, checkered pattern or no design at all. Mason jars can also be found on antique stores. There are different features that make the Mason Jars a perfect, excellent and pleasing to the eyes when it comes to centerpieces.

Most Jars that you can find in antique shops may still have dirt on them, so before you place a jar in the center of your table make sure it’s clean. You do really need to scrub the jars. If you want to use antique or used Mason jar, it may have a fine white layer boiled onto it from the combination of a pressure cooker or hot water bath and hard water. Clean it with hot, soapy water and a scrub pad. Make sure to scrub it both inside and out. If your jars have bubbles, it represents imperfections that were inevitable in the 1800’s. It was during the Mason Jars were handmade by expert glass blowers.

Some Ways to make Mason Jars Fancy as Centerpiece:

  • Sweets and Treasures: Fill the jar with overflowing candies or homemade tarts. Use different shaped half pints, as well as with other sizes. Place the jar on a large sheet with designs in the center of the table. You may tie a ribbon around the tops or leave them plain. Once you filled the jar, overfill each one until the candy pours down onto the sheet or cookie sheet and piles up on the sides of the jars like delicious snowdrifts. Place a few candy canes or a couple of long-handled teaspoons so guests can help themselves.
  • Canning Jars on Display: Place a small candle in the center of the table and then circle it with several types of jellies who offers shade of red and create a beautiful but simple holiday centerpiece just like a gemstone.
  • Antique Mason Jars As Patterned Center Pieces: One advantage of Mason Jar is the patterns to create weaving or dimmed candlelight. Patterns sometimes take away more than the give, so you may want to cover a patterned mason jar loosely with two different colors contrasting or matching tissue paper to create a lovely vase. Place a bouquet into the jar and leave enough tissue paper at the top so it embraces the flowers nicely.

The best way to create a Mason Jar centerpiece is to make your own design and be creative on designing the jars. It’s easy, beautiful but cheap, and could even be the start of a business in the future.

Posted in Decorating | Leave a comment

Green Mason Jars

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Miss Mason

As we all know Mason Jars have different colors, designs, shapes and sizes. As per history, mason jars were really made and used in home canning to preserve food. These jars are still manufactured today. It has become the most popular way to store and preserve food, home canning fell out of favor when commercially canned food became widely available after World War II.

This jar is from the name of John Landis Mason. He is a young inventor who came up with the concept of a metal screw-on lid in 1858. The threaded neck on glass jars that we take for granted today was once a major innovation. Mason’s developments made preserving food at home much easier and made the jars reusable.

Green, Jade and Emerald Mason Jars are colors that are less in production. Other manufacturer said that what they do to have this colored jar was to color it outside with your desired colors. We could also do it at home with combine simple techniques of coloring and a fine complete set for coloring.

I have spent half hour to search for the colors, I have found lots of pictures with beautiful colors of green, emerald and jade but they say that they just hand painted it to have the color they desired and it worth $4 each.

Most mason jars that has the number 971 imprinted on the base can be found on milk glass, amber, emerald green, cobalt blue and carnival glass. Within the past few years a new batch of reproduced 1858 jars imported from China have shown up. But this jars lack the ground lip of earlier 1858s and come without caps, there are three sizes: pint, quart and the half gallon. It looks real on how they respect the embossing but not perfect on color reproductions. There are six different colors includes the emerald green.

Emerald Green and Jade Mason jars are also popular with Wedding Planners as well as others who will have their party on a candle light ambiance. For its authentic color and cool to the eyes. Other says emerald green is an eye catcher, looks natural almost anywhere. Lanterns made in a vintage Mason jars with designs exude homespun charm. In using them to illuminate walkways or arrange on a table with a place cards or cocktails. But beware not to hold the jar it gets very hot. To avoid sticking, fill vessel with 1/8 of water before setting votive candles inside. Great for every celebration and reusable indeed.

Posted in Types of Jars | Leave a comment

Collecting Ball Mason Jars

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Miss Mason

Who would have thought of mason jars as being a collectible, a hobby, or a priceless work of art? You might ask what makes other people love Ball Mason Jars. Part of the fascination is where mason jars come from. The roots of the Ball Glass manufacturing Company go back to 1880, when Frank and Edmund Ball of Buffalo, New York, purchased the Wooden Jacket Can Company. Originally the brothers manufactured metal cans wrapped in wood, but when John L. Mason’s 1858 patent for a fruit-canning jar expired, the brothers prepared to move into glass. In 1884 the first Ball Jars as we think of them today were produced, and in 1888 furnaces were fired at a new plant in Munice, Indiana.

Some common Ball Jars are actually priceless. Some collectors try to accumulate as many jars as they can, from different sizes pint to quarts to half-gallons and in color range from standard clear, aquamarine, purple, and green to less-common amber. As a collector what should you look for a collector’s item jar?

Ball jars that has the color of cobalt blue, green, amethyst and amber are worth more because fewer of them were produced. There are really 14 kinds of Ball Mason Jars from 1885 to the present but the best way to date and price a ball jars are by the way Ball is imprinted on the front of the glass. All collectors know that the older the jar the more valuable it will be. The oldest jars have the double “B” within the “M” and the double “C”, these are by far the most valuable mason jars because they are handmade and have a shoulder seal. So far the most valuable are those with mistakes. Other valuable jars that you must look to were the “N” are missing and the imprint of the entire “mason” is being upside down. Funny though, it’s true.

Tips on Buying Ball Mason Jars as a collector’s item:

  1. Seek Ball Mason Jars based on color because as I said the hardest to find the color are more valuable.
  2. Date the jar by looking for either hand blown bubbles or shoulder seals. Signifies age of the jar.
  3. The number thirteen jar is highly collectible due to myth that owners who had it experienced their “unluckiness”. But so far the number only signifies in which station the jar was made.
  4. Quart-sized jars are often the least valuable because they were made in large quantities. Collectors often appreciate odd-sized jars.
  5. Check on the jars for cracks and small chips it will decrease the value of the jar.
  6. Look for a jar with the original lids which will increase the value of the jar.

All collectors must know the what, how and about their collection. So as time passes their collection will become more and more valuable.

Posted in Why Mason Jars? | Leave a comment

Purple Mason Jars

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Miss Mason

Purple Mason Jars have an exquisite color and can come in a variety of styles that you can use as decoration, containers, and of course for holding jams. Purple and Lavender mason jars are widely used as decorations you can see this mostly in wedding, birthdays, and other parties with the same motif. Colors are pleasing to the eyes and most women love this color. Purple Mason Jars can be very difficult to find. Since the color is very rare and hard to find on eBay if you bump on to one, they may sell for up to $50 or more!

How Purple Mason Jars are Made

Early glass jars were called wax sealers, because they used sealing wax, which was poured into a channel around the lip that held on a tin lid. But the process was very complicated and error-prone. The earliest successful application of this was discovered by Mason and patented on November 30, 1858, a date embossed on thousands of jars. Jars were made in many colors, shapes and sizes well into the 1900s. When manufacturers produce glass, chemicals (clarifying agents) must be added to clarify the batch in order to turn it from its original color of Aqua-blue or green. Manganese Dioxide as their chemical agent of choice to clarify the glass. When a jar or bottle turns purple from sunlight, Manganese Dioxide was the substance responsible from reaction with sunlight that causes the gals to change in color. This was happened prior to start of the First World War where the primary chemical agent was from Russia but when the First World War broke out the source of Manganese dioxide was stop by German blockades. The manufacturer force to use other chemicals called Selenium to clarify glass.

Selenium does not cause to react to sunlight like manganese does, thus glass clarified with selenium does not turn to purple. So knowing these history collectors have another way to date their glass collectibles. So purple jars are rare and might be made from last World War I.

Uses for Purple Mason Jars

Other purple mason jars were use as frosted luminaries or other commercial uses. You can look into other sites for Purple, Lavender and Plum Mason jars that they are selling with different sizes and shapes with prices ranging from $7 – $150, quite expensive. These jars are bought by people who have this sealed business such as jams. It is sealed and preserves the taste of the jams. Order this item online and ask for shipping arrangements but you have to be careful on choosing on where and whom are you buying the products because not all Purple mason Jars are newly made others are recycled and stock on their home without use so they decided to sell it. You can order bulk and receive special discounts.

If you use Purple Mason Jars as a suspended decorative item, there is no longer a need to do it manually. There’s a new style. The hanging Mason jar candle holder with a purple color is both easy and be useful to.

Posted in Types of Jars | Leave a comment

Decorating with Blue Mason Jars

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Miss Mason

Have you ever thought about using jars as decorations in your home. You thought right; Blue Mason Jars can be a new and interesting was to spruce up or redecorate their house. Mason jars are not only exquisite to behold, but they can bring back memories of quiet evenings and idle talks, of verandas and porch swings.

Do you know about the Blue mason Jars? These jars are not that expensive I thought. You can find them for as little as $3-$4 and compared to other vases, they’re worth much more since they provide a sense of artistic whimsy they can’t most vases can’t. You can also paint on Blue Mason jars to create your own designs.

Here are some tips on How to decorate using Blue Mason Jars:

Mason Jar Flower Holder – transform your ordinary mason jar into a wonderful decorative flower holder. Get your mason jar and load its bottom. You may use some pieces of rock or some nice-looking stones (tinted, painted, dyed, or natural). Then, proceed to pour water into the jar. You may use some food coloring if you wish to match something or achieve a particular theme or motif. You can finish your project by adding some colorful flowers. You can position the flower vase on your floor, in the middle of your food table, on your favorite deck, or as the main focus atop your cabinet or shelf.

Mason Jar Candle Holder – The following materials are required: a mason jar (any size), a tea light, some “Blue & White” kitty litter (made out of exquisite crystals), and some citronella candles. Get your kitty litter crystals and put them into your mason jar. You should fill up about 75% of your mason jar. Then, grab your citronella candle. Position it into the jar, just above the kitty litter crystals. Push down the candle a bit. Make sure that it is securely surrounded and supported by your kitty litter crystals. You might ask why we should fill in the jar up to 75%, the jar still a glass and if a close glass jar heated it might explode. We don’t want to harm our guest’s right.

Hanging Blue Mason Jar – Prepare by getting a mason jar (any size you desired), some flowers, and thin wire. If you intend to suspend it you need to wire it properly to avoid the jar from falling in his place. Begin by cutting along strand of wire, on your desired length for me 20 inches in length. Wind the wire around the mason jar, right under its lip. Do it twice until you reach the tip of the wire where you started. Then, twist that tip to whatever is left on the base wire. Repeat the steps but sure that you start and end right across your first wire. Connect the end parts of the wire, forming a ring. Use that ring to suspend your jar somewhere in the house. You can pour some water into the jar and put in some flowers.

You just have to be creative to design and decorate your own blue mason jars.

Posted in Decorating | Leave a comment