…so much, in fact, that I cannot stop buying you, no matter how many of you I have piled up everywhere.
My affinity for Ball Jars is rooted in their unprentious, simple beauty and seemingly ENDLESS utility. But it’s also rooted in my roots: Karrie and I grew up in Muncie, Indiana… the Midwestern town where Ball Corporation was headquartered from 1887 to 1998.
My grandmother, mother, father, and just about everyone else in town worked at Ball Corp, and I have vivid memories of bee-bopping down the halls of those offices as a kid, and saying hello to all my parents’ friends.
Everyone I know was born at Ball Hospital. Our tiny K-12 school was on Ball State campus. My grandparents still have renderings of Ball canning jars on their walls. My parents met at Ball Corp. I played my high school volleyball games at Ball Gym. You get the idea. Ball everything runs rampant in our small town; as a result of which, these sparkly wonders have become woven into the fabric of my existence.
When I was a kid, my mom and I would curl up in a big afghan on Sunday afternoons, watch movies, and drink milk out of frosty Ball jugs. Wassup, Jayne!
My dad’s side of the family, who live up in the mountains of North Carolina, can more homegrown fruits & veggies every year than Heinz has pickles. My grandmother’s basement in Asheville is lined with walls and walls… and more walls… of homegrown goodies, encased in Ball jars.
And no. That ruffled retro lady above isn’t my canning Nanny. But this is. She’s just about the cutest, funniest little person that ever lived.
My dad (aka Stevie B… otherwise known as Big Pimpin in this picture) plants a huuuuugge garden every year…
….and at the end of the summer, cans enough raspberry jam and green beans to feed a small country.
When I went off to college, I packed up a few picture frames, some butt-ugly clothes I wouldn’t be caught dead in today, and naturally, a few glistening, blue Ball Jars to remind me of home. For the last 10 years, those jars have made every move with me, because somehow, they always manage to put themselves to good use, and they always look pretty doing it.
How can you use them in YOUR house? Oh, Honey. Let me count the ways…
1. First off, they’re made for canning. Duh.
2. As previously mentioned on about 105 different occasions, they’re dee-lightful to drink out of.
Sidenote: You could even sit out {a little carafe (filled with water) + wide mouth Ball Jar combo} on a tray, on a bedside table, for overnight guests. Like ah-ZEESE (!)
3. They’re GUH-GUH-GORGEOUS as votives… especially when you use oodles of them in various shapes and sizes… light ’em at night, or hang ’em from the trees, and you’re in biz-nass.
PS: my cousin Jill went to a wedding recently, and said they had about 250 of the QUILTED jelly jars below lit up with votives, and lining the path to the reception… Which is exceptionally awesome, because the textured glass reflects the candlelight. Yummy. Jill also loves these little guys as wine glasses around the house.
4. For some very clever indoor lighting, click here for archival Design*Sponge instructions on how to make this glorious chandelier.
5. You can fill ’em with sweet stuff, and put ’em on your entry table… or, for those of you who occasionally wake up with cookie dough in your hair like I do, you can also sit ’em on your bedside table. Whatever floats your boat.
6. You could make like my college boyfriend – who was always doing something rotten enough to get himself busted – and fill ’em with flowers. EVERYTHING looks pretty against that aqua glass.
7. Use ’em as dirt squirts. I saw these soap dispensers recently on Etsy. I would SO stick these in the bathrooms of my lake house, cabin, farmhouse or country house. You know, the one I don’t have yet.
8. For all you crafty folk, your knitting needles just found a home… If you’re not a knitter, don’t make that face. Knitting is so back in action these days. Or, just pretend those are pens & pencils, and put them on your desk.
9. Entertaining buffet style? Put all your smallish fixins in these little guys… Shaved almonds, sesame seeds, sea salt, fresh herbs…
10. Last but not least, stash all the dough you just saved by repurposing your old canning jars in… you guessed it! A piggy bank.
Finding a new use for an old thing – especially one dripping with nostalgia – is my idea of a bang-up time. So if you’ve got ’em lying around in storage, dust ’em off. And if you’re on the hunt, keep the following things in mind:
1. Wide mouth jars are easiest to drink out of (top left). I would not spend more than $1 each for these.
2. For the aqua ones that are in good shape (bottom left) – twist off lid or no lid – I wouldn’t spend more than $5-$6 a piece. The ones with the glass lids (top right) will be closer to $10. In any case, the ones with lids make good bathroom containers for cotton balls, Q-tips, etc.
3. Any abnormal colors, like the grassy green ones (bottom right in the frame above), or amber-toned ones, will cost a smidge more. If I remember correctly, the funky-colored ones were either limited editions, or just beautiful mistakes. I saw a REALLY unusual green one recently for $75. Similarly, this one below is $45 on Ebay. Gitty up.
4. But, beware of the technicolor “coated & baked” ones. You can’t put anything fun inside them, and they’re not dishwasher safe. Homey don’t play dat.
xoxo,
