10 Upcycling Crafts with Jars

With just a little retrofitting, an old-fashioned mason jar can become a new sewing kit with a built-in pincushion.

Nurture your kid's green thumb or start an herb garden. Here are eight simple ideas to get you started.

Organize your kitchen with customized etched-glass jars of your own design. All you need are a few simple materials. 

If you're a creative type, your supplies should look the part. Decorate basic jam jars with fun fabric scraps and fill them with your go-to materials.

Decorating jars of homemade preserves are a cinch with cupcake wrappers, available in many patterns and colors at the grocery store.

Make cute, portable picnic shakers in a snap. Place a piece of clear tape over the lid of a small jar, and use a marker to create a pattern of holes. With a pushpin, pierce the lid at each mark. Remove tape and pack up your picnic basket.

To make labels for your jams, just download and print. 

Get the recipes:
Blackberry-Bay Leaf Jam
Apricot-Sauternes Jam
Raspberry-Orange Zest Jam

Spruce up your home with freshly cut flowers, or give a Ball jar flower arrangement to someone you love. Let your creativity blossom with this simple DIY.

These informal, inexpensive lanterns are ideal for a garden wedding (or any outdoor activity, really) -- the jars shield the flame from the breeze.

This crunchy-chewy mix includes walnuts, dried fruit, and honey and can be used as a topping for yogurt, oatmeal, and more. Tie a ribbon around each jar, fasten a spoon to the side, and add a tag with the recipient's initial to personalize it.