On Tips and Tea on Tuesdays, I will cover a topic and hopefully provide you with some tips that will be helpful! And just as an afterthought, tea may occasionally be a cup of Joe!

Tea today is a light Jasmine green tea, with a bit of orange honey, freshly made locally. I am also munching on a slice of carrot cake left-over from the weekend. The lovely china cup was a gift from my dear friend Jeri, and I treasure it. She introduced me to all things feminine, like drinking tea in beautiful vintage cups, playing with lace, and collecting mother of pearl buttons.

She also was a staunch believer in re-cycling. Her workroom was filled with all manner of collected treasures, displayed in jars, boxes, and tins. Her spirit lives on here in my collections.

Tip: Repurposing Glass Jars

• Wash your glass jar thoroughly in hot water, preferably in the dishwasher, this will remove all leftover food or oils.
• All manner of collected treasures can be stored, I usually leave the lid off.
• Store buttons made from glass, metal, shell, and wood.

Note: Do not store vintage plastic buttons in glass jars with the lid on, as the materials and chemicals have a tendency to breakdown. If you ever wondered why those buttons have a funny smell, that is it! I store vintage plastics in a cardboard or wood box.

Here are some additional ideas for ways to use unusual vessels:

• Fill a spice jar with flowers from Michael’s or your local craft store and place it on a doily.
• Keep a jar for all of those bead blips, broken buttons, odd pits of ribbon, stuff you don’t want to throw out.
• Fill the holes of a salt shaker with hatpins, or remove the metal top and fill it full of hat pins.

Happy tea drinking and stitching to you! ~Christen

PS: If you have any questions or thoughts, just leave a comment! See Tips, Tricks, the Basics, for more helpful ideas.