Creativi-TEA!

I am thrilled whenever I dine at a restaurant that serves their drinks in these mason jar glass mugs. They somehow whisk me off to the countryside where meals are served family-style, prepared all day by grandma. You know...ribs, corn muffins, fried chicken, macaroni & cheese and lots of pie! Um, okay, you caught me day dreaming right there. So back to the mason jar mugs. This is the inspiration to transform today's blah...

...Into a Tada!...

These Bonne Maman jam jars turn into wonderful tumblers for iced tea (or your drink of choice). They're chunky, sturdy and don't require extra care. They can easily be cleaned in the dishwasher and no tears will be shed if one or two accidentally break. Replacements are available at the supermarket (with free preserves!) unlike more highend drinking glasses that can be out of stock at the home store. They will work well for an outdoor party or a summer picnic. And because it's still winter where I live, I'll go back to day dreaming about warm days, a hearty table brimming with food and refreshing iced tea in jam jars. Cheers!

Fancy Fruit Cup

It's the middle of the week and today, we're recycling a cute old jam jar into this:

It's an earth-friendly container for a fresh fruit salad!

Quite fashionable if I should say so myself: a colorful paper napkin is tied around its waist like a Japanese Obi (belt). The rubber band keeps both napkin and bamboo fork in place.

Use your favorite fruits in season. Peel & cut them up into bite-size pieces, then toss in a bowl. Scoop into clean jam jars, dress it up and store in the fridge. It will be ready to go if you need a quick breakfast before dashing off to work or as a snack when you take the kids & pets to the park.

"Undress" the bottle and use the paper napkin as a placemat, to dab your lips and for easy clean-up.

This homemade fruit cup is guaranteed to be healthy (no sugary syrup or preservatives), inexpensive and will surely make your Mama (birth mom & Mother Earth) proud!

Spice, Spice, Baby!

These Bonne Maman jam jars are so adorable, I'm constantly thinking of ways to re-use them.

They make smart storage solutions for favorite herbs and spices. The lid closes tightly, contents can easily be seen and the jars can be stacked on top of each other.

I also like them because they have a wide mouth, making it easy to dip even the biggest measuring spoon. They're very practical and they make a delightful display on the pantry shelf!

Jam Session

I absolutely love Bonne Maman preserves! The strawberry jam paired with croissants and a cup of cappuccino is enough to get me out of bed on a cold morning. The jam isn't too sweet and I like the chunky strawberry pieces in every bite. Ok, I admit, I first fell in love with the jar: the red & white checkered lid reminds me of a country farmhouse, the jar itself has a wide opening with no curves like other jars, making it easy to scrape out the last bits of jam, and the white label with hand writing-like font adds a homemade appeal.

Bonne Maman is my jam of choice and I have a cupboard full of empty jars to prove it. So while the jar isn't entirely a blah, I'll be showing you some ideas to make them into a Tada! everyday this week.

Jam jars make nifty containers to assemble instant vinaigrettes for your salad: Just put the vinegar, lemon juice, oil, Dijon mustard, shallots, garlic, salt & pepper in the jar, screw on the lid, then shake! Keep it in the same jar and store in the fridge until you are ready to use the dressing.

Old to Gold

It was all about shoes this week and what woman doesn't get excited over that? While not all of us have a hundred dollar shoe budget, all of us have shoes playing the game of hide & seek in our closets. It's time to usher them out of hiding especially these days when hanging on to our pennies is the name of the game. A fashion revival is in order! The formula is simple: clean, polish and accessorize! And accessorizing means looking through our craft boxes (ex. lace appliques, grosgrain ribbon, ostrich feathers) and jewelry cases (ex. vintage clip-on earrings) to fashion a new look:

I think changing the personality of a black pair of shoes is loads of fun. Now you might think I totally over-looked the gold buckles originally attached to the shoe:

Of course not! We don't waste things in this blog! What was a blah is now a...

Tada!...the gold buckle instantly glams up a simple wood bangle

From shoe buckle to belt buckle...another Tada!

Even wooden boxes deserve a little gold! All together now..."Tada!"

And as a final Tada!...I used the gold buckles as accent buttons for a linen pillow cover.

Have a good weekend everyone!

High fashion, low price

I wave my magic wand and sprinkle some fairy dust on these old pair of shoes...

And Tada! I've tried my hand at haute couture...

I'm ready to party & strut my peacock feathers proudly!

Shoe Jewelry

This week, we're giving a face-lift to an old pair of black shoes. Just like a little black dress, black shoes can easily be accessorized to give it a new look. And by accessories, we really mean accessories.

These are clip-on earrings I found at the Hell's Kitchen flea market in New York City. While they're a little too big for my taste, I purchased them with the shoes in mind. Indeed, my shoes have a thing for large jewelry.

The earrings easily clip on to the edge of the shoe. Of course you can try it on the side, back or strap of the shoe and see how you like it best. In this case, I put it front & center, positioned horizontally and secured with crazy glue.

See the transformation from blah shoe to Tada! shoe? It had a modern contemporary feel coming from the shiny gold buckle and now it speaks "classic old world" from the matte gold vintage earring.

Never underestimate the power of accessories -- even for shoes!