Tuesday 23 February 2010

Frugal February Jar - a fun little project for you.

Finally, now that our heating is back on after four days of freeeeeeeeeeeeezing, I bring you a inexpensive little idea for jazzing up a little jar for February - or what is left February, but that is not to say you couldn't do this project whatever the month! Am I rambling? Sorry!

You will need...

A little jar, just the right size for a tealight. I used a tuna paste jar. I'm sure you can find something - maybe a baby food jar?

A glue gun, a pair of scissors a heart punch - or some other decorative shape, and a biro.
and...wait for it...I kid you not...an empty tube of tomato paste/puree.

This is an easy make.

Cut the ends of the tomato puree tube. I used a tomato paste and a garlic paste tube in this project. Very carefully insert your scissors into the tube and cut down the edge to open it up. Now wash with some nice hot soapy water. Please be careful with this. It will have sharp edges!

Now you have something like this...


It's a bit crinkly, so out with the rolling pin...

Now comes the heart punch...
Now emboss however you fancy with a biro on the back of the hearts...

You end up with something like this...
Now it is time to get the glue gun out - sorry couldn't coordinate glueing and taking pictures at the same time! I also fashioned a rim out of the foil, embossed it and made a bow to cover the gap as it wasn't long enough to go round my jar. And here you see the finished product. I told you it was easy !

Tomato paste foil is great for embellishments for many other projects too.If the colour on the back of the foil bothers you when using it on glass (it does show on this project) you could always give it a couple of coats of craft paint first. Or if you are really energetic, you can use a course grade wire wool to rub it off first. Me...no...that was too much effort for now.
I hope this project inspires you to start chopping tomato paste tubes! It's great fun, and a good way to recycle/upcycle.

11 comments:

  1. you are a genius!! how in the world did you know that the inside of a tomato paste tube was gold?!! your little tea light jar is PERFECT, doda!! perfect project! :)))

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  2. Thanks Lori!
    Years ago I saw a TV programme where someone was making sculptures of people using scrap metal, and some of them were made from Tomato paste tubes. It's been at the back of my mind ever since and I've been meaning to chop one up - so I finally did! I can imagine we might see some foil embellishments on one of your little books sometime?

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  3. ooooh, foil embellishments on journals....great idea!! i can't imagine i could make one as cute as these little hearts, though! :))

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  4. This is brilliant! I don;t know if they have tomato paste in tubes here, but I will be looking out for them now! I can't wait to make some of these gorgeous jars:) The hearts would also look gorgeous hanging from a Christmas garland of some sort too. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful idea!! ~ Tina x

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  5. Tomato paste in a tube! Who woulda thought!? I am not a cook as you can see. But this is SO COOL!!! I may have to go get some of this tomato paste but---what do I do with the tomato paste??? Can I paint with it?
    :)

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  6. Thanks girls! Glad you like the project. I must say it never occured to me that tomato paste might not come in a tube over there! I'm sure you can find something that does. I use tomato puree to add to soups and sauces for that extra tomato taste. I have been known to make emergency ketchup with it too. I just add some balsamic vinegar and a tiny bit of sugar and maybe some pepper. It's quite passable. Maybe you can buy garlic puree there? I cheat by adding a squeeze to a dish whenever it requires garlic. But anything that comes in a foil tube would work. Have fun !
    Oh, and I never thought about Biro being used only in the UK - funny - just as well I had a picture showing what I meant!

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  7. That is just adorable - and I can't help but love your words for everything :)

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  8. that is a good tip - the tomato paste... when I was samll we used toothpaste, it used to be in a metal tube. Lovely jar indeed!

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  9. Muchas gracias por el tutorial.
    ¡¡¡ Es genial !!!
    Tienes unas ideas muy buenas, me encanta el resultado.
    Besitos

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  10. I always wondered what I could do with that kind of metal. (I try to justify saving everything. *blush*)
    What a fantastic idea, and it looks great! But what is "tuna paste"??

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  11. this is a great project! thanks for the tutorial. uh oh, another thing not to throw away!

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Hi there, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me. Thanks for dropping by. I enjoy reading all your comments.