B & C

B is for Ball jars........I came across this bag of 20 Ball jars at a yard sale and only wanted one very old jam/jelly jar. 

 The seller gave me an awesome deal for the whole bountiful batch though so I bought the whole thing!

 Now, as you know, I already have shelves full of old Ball jars in my basement.  Don't have any idea what I will do with these.  I do love them though....various sizes, they all have zinc lids, and mostly the blue colored jars so to the basement they will go.

Now for that awesome old jam jar........

Can you see the imprint on the bottom of the jar?

It is in the inside of the jar...........

It's a crown and an angel!!!! 

 Amazing!!!!! 

 I can't wait to make some jelly and invert it on a pretty serving saucer and see that imprint in it.

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C is for chair......CHEAP!

I got this at a yard sale for one dollar. 

 It is acutally quite sturdy and would have been cute painted and put in the house.

 Hubby cut out the seat for me though so I could make a garden chair.

I pulled this old chicken wire out of the garage to line the seat then realized I did not have enough sheet moss on hand to make a liner for the soil. 

I stuck in some shards from broken clay pots for drainage, filled with soil, and ran to a local nursery for some plants.

I didn't like the wood seat peaking out from around the pot so I pulled out some dried moss I had.

Voila!

Don't forget to enter the Cottage Charm Event Giveaways.

Here's mine

Here's the rest at

Twice Remembered Cottage

Linking to Debbie Doos Garage Salen Partay

AND

Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Teasures

How to Date Your Ball Jars.......

and I don't mean taking them out to dinner and a movie. Seriously now, I was wondering how old some of the many Ball jars I have are. So......I grabbed one off the shelf and started hunting for information.

There are so many more jars on my basement shelves so I grabbed just one to find out it's age.

We also used to sale lots and lots of extra Ball jars in our yard sales. There are several collectors in the area that would come by and scoop them up.

Guess our prices were right!......for the collectors.

Now I'm wondering how many rare jars we sold??!!

I found this website. The main site is Ball Jars Collectors. This website is loaded with information and links to learn more about your Ball Jars.

The way the name is embossed in the jar is crucial to dating them.

I was thrilled to discover the jar I grabbed is scarce due to the offset of the 'Ball Perfect Mason.' My jar is circa 1915.

Still can't find it's value anywhere so I'm still looking for that piece of information. Make sure to visit the Ball jars collector website and learn more about these popular antique and vintage jars.

All information included here is from The Ball Jars Collector website.

Ball Jars

In my basement there are shelves and shelves of Ball Jars.....

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

(Hubby and I bought their estate in 1993. The house has been in the family now for over 65 years.)

Grandpa gardened and Grandma canned all the wonderful veggies she could. I've never noticed the headline on the newspaper lining the basement shelves until I took this pic.

Can you read it?

Hint: the newspaper is dated 11/23/1963.

Since I work in Muncie, Indiana, I am close to all things Ball.....Ball jars, Ball State University, etc. Everyone loves Ball jars and they have so many uses ..............not just for canning anymore.

The five Ball Brothers.

The original Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company.

Both sides of the historical marker for Ball Brothers Glass.

This home is where one of the Ball brothers lived.

The above Ball home burned down in the 1960's. The front columns were saved and stand on the original property.....which is now Minnitrista Cultural Center.

Another Ball brother lived in this beauteous home.I love this balcony and columns.

This home, Oakhurst, was another Ball residence. This is the only Ball home that I've had the pleasure to tour. It even has a secret room! Elisabeth Ball was an avid gardener and the beautiful Oakhurst Gardens are well kept by volunteers. This is a must-see if you ever get to Muncie. Elisabeth Ball loved faeries and had lots of garden tea parties.

I'm sure we would have been the best of friends but I was born too late.

Next post.....how to date your Ball jars.