If anything, this has been the summer of canning, and specifically of making jam. I've seen great things on all sorts of blogs, and read lots of magazine articles, about how easy and flavorful it is to preserve your own food...but I'd been reluctant. My husband pushed me though, because he really wanted to try making jam and save/savor the summer. So we made our first jam, a vanilla rhubarb in early June and there's been no stopping me since! (The link will take you to the recipe, and to my favorite canning site thus far, Food in Jars).
Of course, as I was assembling all those mason jars and making sure they sealed (they did!), I was thinking about the really cute but now retired Perfectly Preserved and matching framelits. I let mine go last summer, thinking it was cute but that I didn't really use it. Alas! And then...My Digital Studio to the rescue!
You can get the stamp images as a download in MDS...which I had already done, because I do think the jars are super cute, and so I decided to make custom labels for my jars. I sized them and tried to get as many on the page as possible in MDS, where I also gave them some of my favorite colors for the fabric lids: Real Red, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive. Then I exported the file to my ecutter software, printed them on sticker paper, cut around the jars and I was ready to label! The image above is of a full sheet...minus a few labels.
Here's another shot of my finished product. And there are lots more labeled jars in the cupboard, just waiting for winter days. I can't tell you how exciting this whole process has been, from trying my hand at jam making (there are a few "peach paste" jars that we don't need to talk about...) to creating my very own labels for them. One hint though: write on your labels before putting them on the jars. It's much easier that way!
And if you're wondering about that tomato jam, it's divine. Here's the recipe, and I recommend that you try some on meatloaf, or with eggs if that's your thing. Yum!
Cheers!
~Melanie
My Digital Studio: Perfectly Preserved
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