Over the years, I’ve managed to talk a fair amount about how I label my canning jars. In most cases, I just scrawl the contents and date on the lid with a Sharpie. When I’m labeling dry goods in the pantry, I use that same permanent marker and write directly on the glass (it erases with a swipe of rubbing alcohol).
Sometimes, when I’m feeling particularly fancy, I’ll cut out labels with pinking shears and tie them to the jars with red baker’s twine. And of course, I talked a lot about labeling just before the holidays this year.
The most recent addition to my arsenal of canning jar labeling options is this lovely stamp from A Sensible Habit. Designer Brandy Schuman has a pretty little selection of stamps that are perfect for marking your goods with style and charm. You can use them in any number of ways, from hang tags to rounds of paper that you slip under the lid (it would also work really well on those circle-shaped brown paper labels that Avery sells
Now that I have this stamp sitting on my desk, I think I’m going to start putting prettier labels on my more giftable preserves, in the hopes that having them all dressed up will compel me to share more with my friends and neighbors (confession time: I keep far more of what I make than we can reasonably eat. It’s time to get those preserves out of my pantry and into the world!).
Thanks to Brandy, I have the stamp that’s pictured above to giveaway this week. If you’d like to enter for a chance to win it, here’s what to do.
- Leave a comment on this post and tell me about the person who most appreciates your homemade preserves.
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog over the weekend.
- Giveaway open to U.S. residents.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: A Sensible Habit provided a stamp for me to use and photograph for this post at no cost to me. They’re also providing the giveaway unit at no cost. They did not pay for inclusion in this post and my opinions are entirely my own.
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Definitely my husband!
Hi!
The person who most enjoys my homemade preserves or jams is my husband. I first started canning last summer so I haven’t had a ton of experience but I made two batches of strawberry jam with berries from my local farmers’ market. I had made an extra batch to give away at Christmas to my numerous family members as gifts. Come Christmas time I couldn’t find any of my strawberry jam. Turns out my husband liked it so much he ate it all! So I only had my not-quite-as-successful blackberry jam to give away (not as successful because I didn’t realize blackberries didn’t have as much natural pectin as strawberries so it was a little too watery.) Next summer I will have to either hide the gift batch or make a few more batches.
I think my husband appreciates my canning the most – which is good, because he is a big help during the process (we generally peel tomatoes together and share chopping duty for salsa) and I’m not sure I’d maintain the drive if he didn’t notice the difference between our homemade salsa and store-bought.
This stamp looks like a nice compromise between my meticulously made printed labels (date, contents, ingredients) that I only do when I can label all the jars and maximize my sticker paper (single sheet so I can cut out whatever shape I want – oval seems to work best for jar sides) and quickly writing on a piece of solid colored faux-washi tape that gets slapped on the jar lid.
my mother-in-law – she loves everything I make!
Both neighbors on each side are bachelors. They really like getting home made stuff.
My dad. He always used to take canned fruit in his lunchbox. He’s now 99 but hasn’t lost his test for home canned fruit.
My husband. If he uses up what’s left in a jar, he knows he can run down to the basement to get more!
What a fab giveaway! I would say husband is the one who appreciates them the most. Especially when I surprise him with a nice fresh batch of Strawberry or Blueberry Jelly and home made bread. =)
What a fab giveaway! I would say husband is the one who appreciates them the most. Especially when I surprise him with a nice fresh batch of Strawberry or Blueberry Jam and home made bread. =)
My mom and dad taught me how to can, so they are (and were) so supportive of canning and canners. They loved receiving goodies in JARS!
I love sharing my canned treasures with friends and family. They love the fact that the love that is shared is the first ingredient in each recipe.
I have only been canning for a few years although I helped my mother as a child. To say that, I think if she were still alive, my mother would appreciate my canning the most. She spent so much time making pear preserves and she always made 1 special jar for me. Of course, I think I eat most of what I can. You know what they say, “We eat all we can and give the rest away.”
I would say that my husband is most appreciative of my canning efforts as he helps to maintain the garden that provides many of the ingredients that go into our preserves.
My mom! Since I can in small batches & use small containers, lving alone she can enjoy the smaller amounts.
My 92-year old neighbor whose thank you notes I save because they are so sweet!
Let’s try this again. Real entry: My mother-in-law. If I’ve put it in a jar, she’s eaten it. I’m still new to all this and it seems like she’s taking this journey of discovery with me. She wants to know everything I did or used. She will sit and watch me and ask all kinds of questions waiting to taste the final product. And I’m lovin’ it. =)
I would say the person who most appreciates my homemade preserves is me because so far I have only made pickles.
However I did gift hot cocoa and homemade vanilla (extract+sugar) for christmas and this would have made the labels extra special. I’m hoping to move on towards canned preserves when I move into a bigger kitchen. I’m sure I could do it in my current, but i have no space to store all the stuff I would make. HA!
Too clever! My seven year old appreciates my canning the most, I think, as he has recently discovered that you can pretty much subsist on peanut butter and mom’s strawberry jam sandwiches!
Thanks for the giveaway!
The person who most appreciates my preserves is my father. I make all of the old recipes that his mother used to make, and he doesn’t have time to make. His favorite by far is the multi berry chutney, which I have to put into half pint jars, because he’ll sit down and eat a whole pint with a spoon if I let him!
I would say it’s a toss up between my husband and my mother as to who likes my jams more…I caught my mother going through my jams looking for flavors she likes last time she came to visit. I gave her 3 different jars, one was a mystery jam as I forgot what berry I used….I did not put a label on the jar…my bad.
Usually my daughter…she’s the one who does the most canning and cooking!
Ha- me!
Oh, what fun. My husband loves my preserves, although we are still working on vocabulary. He is from Uruguay and his native tongue is Spanish. Thus, all jams are “marmalade” even those that have no citrus rind. Nonetheless, it’s great to have an appreciative fan in the house.
What a lovely giveaway! My coworkers appreciate my preserves the most–the are the perfect toping to their morning bagels, toast, and english muffins!
My husband really likes my jams.
My dad loves my marmalade!
My husband….now he’s spoiled and won’t eat store bought!
[...] to all of you who took the time to enter the canning stamp giveaway last week. I loved reading about all the people in your lives who appreciate the work you do [...]