A couple weeks ago I was working around the house, taking down my Christmas decorations. I usually get tired of them before my kiddos do and they plead with me to keep the tree up longer and to wait to take down all the rest of the Christmas adornment. However, I get eager to get my house back to its clean organized state and so I take them down myself when they are not looking 😉 . Anyway, on this particular day I had gotten most of the decorations boxed up and was working to clean and redecorate the living room. I was standing at the island tying a bow on one of my pictures when I looked up to see a jeep coming straight for my house!! My brain couldn’t work fast enough to really process what was happening before I heard a loud, “BANG!!”. I ran to the window to see the jeep about two feet from the corner of my house sitting on top of my 20 year old Rose of Sharon bush, which was now crushed to the ground and broken off at the base. I had initially thought the jeep hit the house and that was what the sound was. Thankfully, I was wrong!! The sound was the jeep hitting the tree-like bush and the snapping of the trunk of it. This massive bush was the only physical thing that kept the vehicle from crashing into my house.
It was a scary day for all of us. Thankfully, no one was hurt and the jeep had 4-wheel drive and was able to drive itself back over the bush and out of the yard without any damage to the vehicle. Our yard has some pretty deep ruts and the bush is a total loss, but considering what could have happened, I think we all got off easy.
Anyway, after putting away most of my decorations, I realized that I could leave a few wintery things up and this Epsom Salt Luminary is one of the things that could stay out a little bit longer.
I made a bunch of these luminaries for the craft sale I participated in just before Christmas and they all sold. Then I had a group of ladies over from my church around Christmas and we made these together as a take-home craft. They are really easy to make, inexpensive, and are a beautiful decoration around the house. They also make an inexpensive, lovely gift for a friend or teacher.
So here’s how you make these:
I used a pint size Mason jar. You could use any time of jar, even an old pickle jar. Using a bristle or foam brush, cover the jar with any type of white glue that dries clear. I’ve used Mod Podge and craft glue. School glue would work fine too.
Quickly and thoroughly roll the jar into a bowl filled with Epsom salt. Make sure you cover the jar completely.
I left the rim of the jar clean so I could tie twine around it.
After the jar dried, I added twine to this one and ribbon to some other ones I made. Then I attached a little piece of greenery. The final touch was the tea light candle to drop down in the jar. It adds a darling glow to the already cute jar!
The salt flakes off a little bit as time goes by, but the flaking is not obvious on the jar, just on the surrounding surface.
So, if you’re looking for a cute, easy craft to make that you can leave out all winter long, give these a try. They are perfect to leave out just a little longer!
Enjoy!
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Adorable luminaries! But, oh how scary to have a car end up so close to your house. Wonderful that no one was injured. Hopefully, the driver will replace your shrub with a new one that will be there another 20 years. Thanks for sharing the cute project!