How to Make Your Own Mason Jar Oil Candle

How to Make Your Own Mason Jar Oil Candle

sharing this craft idea

Hello my Crafty Witches One of my Favorite things in the world is Candles
I love making them and Love giving them as Gifts
Today I am going to show you how to make a Beautiful Decorative oil Candle you can make

you can make these ahead of time for emergencies for blackouts or power failures good for emergency kits

This is what you will need for each jar you will want to make:

1- 1/8 Nipple- Yes, they are called that and you can find them in the lighting section at places like Home Depot or Lowe’s with all the spare lighting parts.

2- 1/8 Couplings- Should be right next to the Nipples.
2- 3/8 in Washers- You can buy these in a pack or individually.

You need Lamp Wicks 100% Cotton you find these in craft stores

or make your own out of Recycled
T-shirt 100% cotton. Cut it into strips about 2 inches wide. If it gets too thin the wick will burn faster.

Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Canola Oil, Citronella oil, Peanut oil, Liquid Parafin oil, Odorless Mineral Oil , Lamp Oil Really any oil that burns. Is there any oil that doesn’t burn? Hm… Deep thoughts.

Glass Jar of some sort.

How This Works

The oil is drawn up the wick where it vaporizes and gets burned by the flame. A few ounces of oil will burn for several hours, so if you are concerned about the cost, it is much cheaper than most candles.

Want to get fancy with your olive oil lamp? You can infuse your oil with herbs, spices or essential oils also try infusing your oil with Pinecones Cranberries Fruit like Lemons or Limes or Oranges, Coffee beans ,Vanilla beans etc for a more scented and Decorative experience.

Tools you will need:

Cordless drill with a 3/8 drill bit or a really THICK screw driver and hammer to pound it through the lid. We used a cordless drill and the screw driver and hammer method. The screw driver is really great for pounding out a starter hole so that the drill has a guide.

You can use the hammer later to make sure the metal is flat if it rolls a little.

Block of wood. You will want this so that you have something to pound or drill into.

Instructions! This is the good part.

1- Make a dot where you want the hole to go in the lid.

2- If you are using the drill, make a starter hole with the screw driver first. Pound the back of the lid with the screw driver and the hammer. It doesn’t take much to make a hole. Then, take the drill and hold the lid very, VERY tight. It will try to spin on you if you don’t. Remember, 3/8 drill bit.

3- Put the nipple through the hole. On both sides of the lid, add a washer, and then a coupling. The nipple should be longer underneath the lid than on top of the lid. You will want the nipple and coupling to be flush on top of the lid.

4- After that is attached, twist your strip of t-shirt and then thread it through the nipple. It will expand a little after it is soaked with oil.

5- Add oil to your jar to the desired amount.

6- Attach completed lid back onto the jar.

7- You will want to wait for the oil to soak all the way up the t-shirt before you light it, otherwise it will just burn it up.

Here are Some Suggestions

Glass Coke bottles work well

Any Glass Jar will work

Note Please use your own Common Sense and take all Safety Precautions with Fire and Candles
don't leave around pets or kids and don't leave unattended

Natural Honey Citrus Syrups for Coughs

sharing what I found very helpful Syrups for Coughs & Sore Throats

Soothe a cold or enjoy a deliciously flavored cup of hot water or tea

By Monica Matheny

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Here are 5 easy-to-make, no cook, naturally flavored honey syrups that can be a home remedy to soothe a sore throat or cough. They're also a tasty way to add natural, nutrient-rich flavors to hot tea or water.
A home remedy that works! Combinations of honey, lemon, and tea are age old remedies for soothing a cough or sore throat. Turns out there's actually some science behind them; these old remedies can really work! What luck that they taste good, too--way better than those drug store cough syrups.
Studies have shown that honey can calm a cough as well as, or even better than, over-the-counter cough medicines. Honey has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and can fight bacteria. Combine it with the nutrients in lemons & other citrus, herbs, and spices, and you've got a natural, delicious way to treat cold and flu symptoms. Blends of honey and citrus can be swallowed straight from a spoon or stirred into hot water or tea. The steam and warmth of hot tea and water are also soothing to sore throats and can relieve stuffiness.

• Sources: Mayo Clinic, , ABC News, Livestrong, Worlds Healthiest Foods

• Warning: Never give honey to a child younger than age 1 due to the risk of infant botulism, a rare but serious form of food poisoning.

Honey, lemon, & cinnamon may help with weight loss, too. There is so much conflicting information out there about using honey vs. sugar as a sweetener. It's hard to sort it all out. I have heard & read frequently that honey is metabolized in the same way as sugar, and that they have basically the same effect on the body. However, some recent studies in Nutrition Research and Scientific World Journal conclude that natural, unprocessed honey can help with weight loss. They recommend honey as a healthier sweetener than sugar. Lemon and cinnamon have also been found to contribute to weight loss. Combining the 3 in a honey lemon cinnamon tea can be a winner for both weight loss and calming a cough or sore throat. Source: Livestrong
A great gift for a sick friend or tea lover! I always want to do something for a friend who is under the weather, but never know how to help. A jar of one of these syrups is just the thing. They are such delicious stir-ins for flavoring hot tea or water, that they make a great gift for tea loving friends, too. I have a printable gift tag you can attach to the jar. You'll find it further down in this post.

My kitchen laboratory. After seeing a variety of honey and sore throat concoctions on Pinterest (see links at bottom of this post), I've spent some time over the past couple of months experimenting with infusing honey with different blends of citrus, herbs, and spices. My goal was to create combos that taste good and are thought to have healing powers.

• Disclaimer! I have absolutely no training in nutrition or medicine. My syrups are all based on information I've gathered on the internet. Of course, if you are experiencing severe cold or flu symptoms, or have diabetes or other health conditions, you should consult a doctor.

Here's a peek at some of the samples that have been hanging out in my fridge that combine a variety of citrus, herbs, spices, and honeys:

I settled on 5 favorite flavor combinations that I'm sharing today. Truth is, they're not just for soothing a sore throat or cough. These syrups taste fabulous stirred into hot water and tea even if you aren't sick. I've loved having them on hand for flavoring my afternoon cup of tea.
Step-by-step photos for making
5 Honey Citrus Syrups

Skip the photos - Go straight to the recipe

Ingredients (all chosen for their nutrient-rich qualities, along with good flavor):

• honey -- I used regular pure, unfiltered honey and buckwheat honey. I initially purchased both at Whole Foods, but found a better bulk price on Amazon.
• citrus -- lemons, limes, oranges, and clementines
• herbs -- fresh rosemary & mint
• spices -- ginger (fresh or dried/ground), whole cloves, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom

Here are links to information about nutrition and healing benefits of:
fresh or dried/ground ginger, cloves & cardamom, cinnamon, peppermint, rosemary, citrus
Organic, washed citrus recommended. Because the fruit isn't peeled, I highly recommend using organic citrus in these syrups. Wash it well, too, to remove any possible contaminants.

What you should know about honey. Well, there's a lot. You'll find a good summary here. For the purpose of making these syrups, here are some tips:

• Unprocessed, local honey is best. There are various degrees of processing available. Raw honey is the least processed and has the most nutrients. It is however more expensive and less widely available. If using regular honey (not raw), look for 100% pure, unfiltered, unheated varieties. I found some at my grocery store.
• When honey is exposed to high heat it loses many of its nutrients and benefits. Avoid pasteurized honey that has been exposed to high heat. Microwaving honey is not recommended.
• Honey comes in many varieties with different flavors depending on where the honey bees collected their pollen. The darker the honey color, the stronger its flavor, and the higher its nutrients and antioxidants.
• Buckwheat honey is among the most nutrient rich honeys and has been found to be an effective cough suppressant. It is very dark and has a strong molasses flavor. Some like it, some don't. I prefer to mix it half and half with milder honeys for the best flavor & nutrient combo, and to save money (buckwheat honey is more expensive than lighter honeys). You can read more about buckwheat honey here and here.
• Honey should be stored at room temperature to avoid crystallization. It has natural preservatives and will not spoil. If it does crystallize, set it in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes to restore its consistency. This amount of heat will not compromise its nutrients. (Note: The honey syrups in this post should be refrigerated, because they contain citrus and herbs. The combination of ingredients keeps them from crystallizing in the fridge.)

view on Amazon: regular pure organic honey, 5 lbs. pure orange blossom honey (value priced), 1 lb. buckwheat honey, 5 lbs. buckwheat honey (value priced--if you plan on using a lot, this is the best price I've found)

Slice the citrus into rounds. I quarter the rounds of larger citrus like oranges, and half the rounds of limes, lemons, and clementines.

Using ginger. I tested these syrups using both fresh and ground dried ginger, and ended up preferring the ground dried version for the best & easiest flavor punch. Plus, I didn't have to worry about the dried ginger spoiling. (You still get the nutritional benefits of ginger in it's dried form.) If you prefer to use fresh ginger, I recommend grating it rather than slicing it. In my samples using sliced ginger, I could hardly taste the ginger--grating it helped.

• Fresh ginger tips: Peel it easily with the tip of a spoon. Grate it with a Microplane.

view on Amazon: Microplane (I also use this for grating garlic and Parmesan cheese; and zesting citrus)

How to stack and mix the syrup ingredients. I'm assembling a lemon ginger honey jar in the illustration below:

• Add half of the lemon slices, then half of the ginger, then half of the honey; give it a stir with a chopstick, table knife, or other long thin object. Move the lemon slices around to make sure the honey runs between them.
• Repeat with the remaining lemon, ginger, and honey; stir and top off with more honey, if needed, to fill the jar.
• This can be done in any size jar. I used half-pint (1 cup jars). The jars should be approx. 3/4 full with citrus. This allows room for at least 1/2 cup of honey per jar.
• Hint for assembling prettier jars (if you care about that): place some of the lemon slices vertically down the sides of the jar so that full slices are visible from the outside. They tend to stack horizontally otherwise.

view on Amazon: 1/2 pint jars, reuseable plastic lids for jars

From thick to thin syrup. Within 3-4 hours the syrup is ready to use. The honey draws the juices out of the citrus, so give it a stir to combine the honey and juice. The result is that the thick honey transforms into a thin syrup consistency. If you prefer a thicker consistency, increase the ratio of honey to citrus in your jars.

• Another way to thicken this is to heat & simmer the mixture for approx. 15 minutes; the honey and pectin in the citrus will naturally gel as it cools. However heat destroys many of the nutrients. Personally, I'm happy with these in a thinner syrup consistency so that I benefit from as many nutrients as possible.

5 Citrus Honey Syrup Flavor Varieties:These are my favorite combinations of the ones I tested.
1. Lemon Ginger Honey

2. Clementine Cardamom Honey

3. Lime Mint Honey. (Note: After about a week the delicate mint leaves begin to darken and should be removed to avoid decay and spoilage. The mint flavor remains infused into the honey.)

4. Lemon Rosemary Honey

5. Orange Clove Honey(cinnamon may be added to this one, too, if you like)

3 honey combos. Below are the Orange Clove Honey Syrups made with different honey combinations.

1. all regular light honey (mine was an orange blossom honey)
2. half regular honey and half buckwheat honey -- a nice blend of mild and strong flavored honeys; this is my personal favorite for enjoying good flavor along with the nutrients in buckwheat honey
3. all buckwheat honey -- honestly, I didn't like the flavor of this one at all--way too strong for my palette.

Storage and shelf life. These should be covered and stored in the refrigerator. As you use the syrups, you may continue to add more honey to the jars to keep them full. They are good for at least 1-2 months, maybe longer. Honey is a natural preservative; and citrus has a high pH level that gives it preservative power, too. If you add other more fragile fresh ingredients (like mint leaves), the syrup may not keep as long. I haven't tried using food-grade essential oils in these, but that may be another option for adding flavor and nutrients that won't spoil.

How to use these syrups:

• Swallow a spoonful or two of honey syrup to soothe a cough or sore throat.
• Stir a heaping tablespoon (or more to taste) into a cup of hot water.
• Stir a heaping tablespoon (or more to taste) into a cup of hot tea.

A great gift for an ailing friend or tea lover!
Print a sheet of these tags for adding the finishing touch to a gift jar of honey citrus syrup.
To use the tags:

• Print these on card stock, cut them out with scissors, punch a hole in the corner, and hang them from a ribbon or string.
• Print them on sticker paper and stick them to your gift. Or, stick them on with tape.

If you don't have a printer or specialty papers, you can have a store with printing services download and print them for you.
Click on this image to download a printable sheet of tags:

These make a unique, thoughtful get well gift. Or, an "any time" gift for tea lovers.

I've been fortunate not to have caught the flu that's been going around. Nevertheless, I've been stirring these tasty syrups into my hot tea regularly. They give it just enough flavor and sweetness.

Make it a Yummy day!

Honey Citrus Syrups

By Monica

Ingredients

• honey -- pure, unfiltered, unheated
• buckwheat honey (optional)*
• citrus: lemons, oranges, limes, Clementines
• herbs: fresh rosemary & mint
• dried spices: whole cloves, ground ginger, ground caramom, ground cinnamon

Directions

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING JARS: (see specific ingredients for flavor combinations below)
Slice citrus into rounds. Cut rounds into halves or quarters so they will easily fit inside jar. In half-pint (1 cup) jar, add half of citrus, herbs/spices, and honey; stir gently to mix. Add remaining half of ingredients; stir gently. Top off with more honey, if needed, to fill jar. Cover and store in refrigerator. After 4 hours, stir to combine honey with citrus juices that have released. Syrup is ready to use. Will keep in refrigerator for up to 1-2 months. As syrup is used, may continue to top off jar with additional honey.

RECOMMENDED FLAVOR COMBINATIONS (These are approximate measurements, since citrus sizes can vary. As a guideline, jar should be approx. 3/4 full of citrus, leaving room for approx. 1/2 cup or more honey.)

--LEMON GINGER HONEY: 1-2 lemons, 1 teaspoon ground ginger (or 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger), 1/2 cup honey (or enough to fill jar).
--ORANGE CLOVE HONEY: 1/2 orange, 16 whole cloves, 1/2 cup honey (or enough to fill jar). Optional: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon also may be added.
--CLEMENTINE CARDAMOM HONEY: 1-2 Clementines, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 cup honey (or enough to fill jar).
--LIME MINT HONEY: 1-2 limes, 6-8 fresh mint leaves, 1/2 cup honey (or enough to fill jar). Remove mint leaves from jar after 1 week to prevent spoilage.
--LEMON ROSEMARY HONEY: 1-2 lemons, 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, 1/2 cup honey (or enough to fill jar).

*May use all regular honey, all buckwheat honey, or a mixture of half of each. Many find the buckwheat honey flavor to be too strong, so combining it with regular honey is a good compromise.

upside down tomato planter-2 liter bottles

2-liter bottle upside down tomato planter

 

I have a habit of forgetting to water the plants everyday.  so I found this very helpful for my gardens
Materials required

• Empty 2-liter bottle
• Spray paint
• Drill or hot nail
• Chopstick or 1/4 in stick

Step 1 — Cut off bottom

There is a natural ridge at the bottom of the two liter bottle, simply cut at this ridge and remove the bottom.
Step 2 — Attach water reservoir

Take the removed bottom, flip it over, and insert it into the bottom of the bottle until flush with the top.
Step 3 — Drills Holes
First you need to drill a small hole in the bottom of the reservoir (the bottom you cut of) Use the smallest drill bit you have, this will reduce the water flow coming into the planter during rainfall and/or manual watering. With this reduced flow there should be much less soil loss during watering.

Second you need to drill two holes about 1/4 inch from the edge with a 1/4 inch drill bit. It is a little difficult to get enough pressure against the plastic to make this hole without causing the plastic to collapse. To take care of this place a small piece of wood on the floor and drill the holes from the inside.

Step 4 — Paint planter

You want to protect the roots from being exposed to direct sunlight so you need to cover the outside. This can be done with contact paper, duct tape (as I have done in the past) or for a fast cleaner look just quickly add a quick coat of spray paint to the outside. It is probably best to use paint that is made to adheres well to plastic, though in my case I had some nice multipurpose light green paint leftover from another project that with a few hard rains appears to be holding up well.
Step 5 — Secure with stick (chopstick) and fill with soil

Now add your plant (tomatoes and peppers are my favorites) to the bottom (previously the top) of the planter by carefully pushing the roots through the hole or alternatively you can the plant out from the inside. If your plant is too large to do this safely you may also cut a larger opening in the bottom, but I would recommend wrapping a sponge or coffee filter around the plant to assist in keeping the dirt in the planter.
Fill your planter with a mixture of 1 part perlite to 2 parts (potting mix, peat moss, coconut coir) with the top 1/2 inch being only (potting mix, peat moss, coconut coir) After a couple of waterings, this 1/2 inch layer will compact and restrict the water flow for a slower and more distributed watering.

Use the thinner end of your chopsticks to thread it through both holes and both sets of plastic, attach a piece of twine attached to bother ends, and hang wherever the plants can get some good full sunshine and you should have plenty of early tomatoes this summer.

HERBAL DREAM PILLOWS

HERBAL DREAM PILLOWS
-----------------------------
Things You'll Need
12 X 20 in fleece fabric or whatever you want to use
17 X 6 in quilt batting (optional)
... 1/2 cup herbs of choice
2 12 inch pieces of ribbon
Needle and Thread
pins
2 rubber bands

Instructions:
Mix together herbs in a glass or plastic bowl using a wooden or plastic spoon. Avoid metal. Toss herbs together as if making a salad. Use the herbs that you need for what your trying to do.

Herbs to Consider Using:
* Angelica: prophetic dreams
* Anise: repel nightmares
* Balsam Fir: soothing
* Basil: psychic dreams
* Bay: clairvoyance and wisdom
* Bay Laurel: positive energy
* Camphor: awakens memories
* Cedar: repels bad dreams [use sparingly]
* Chamomile: Retrieves buried memories
* Dill: sleep aid
* Hops: promotes healing
* Lavender: peaceful sleep
* Lemon Grass: prophetic dreams
* Marigold: prophetic dreams
* Marjoram: relieves depression
* Mint: vivid dreams
* Mugwort: aids in remembering dreams
* Mullein: repels bad dreams
* Rosemary: headaches and sweet dreams [use sparingly]
* Rose: clairvoyance
* St. Johns Wort: banishes spirits
* Thyme: attracts fairies, peaceful sleep, gives psychic powers
* Valerian: deep rest [some cats like this as much as catnip so keep out of reach of cats]
* White Sage: door to the spirit world

Set mixture aside.

Lay the 12 X 20 inch fabric down on a tabletop. If using it align the 17 X 6 Inch batting in the center of the fabric [width wise] but lined up on one length wise end. [This end will be the end you roll first.] The opposite end will be without batting.

Spread your choice of herbs [TOTAL of 1/2 cup] over the batting and or fabric and then starting with the end that has the fabric and batting lining up roll the layers of fabric, batting and herbs. It will look like a jelly roll. (if not using batting then start at either end to roll)

Pin the length of it for sewing.

Pinch one end together about where the batting ends and secure with rubber band. Repeat with the other end. Then, sew down the length of the pillow and remove pins.

Tie the ribbons on each of the roll.

You may also decorate the ribbons woth artificial flowers, pine cones etc.

Place under your regular pillow and have a great night's sleep!

These make wonderful gifts for a house guest or friend.
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