Celebrate fall’s favorite hobby with our fresh-picked Canning Jar designs. These canning products might inspire you to ransack the garden or your craft closet to celebrate this timeless tradition.

Scarlett C., an associate at Paper Source Bethesda, shared her own touching story about the craft of canning:

“Last fall, my grandmother, whom I was very close with, passed away. In the wake of her death, I was left with the huge responsibility of settling her affairs and estate. Given this very literal pile of legalities and paperwork, I found myself having a hard time actually accepting the loss.

This summer, I tried to find some sort of mental peace and quiet, to really come to terms with what had happened in the past year. In this journey I looked to several hobbies and pursuits that I thought might help me finally unwind and process. I had a long list of things to try… yoga,camping, road trips, and oddly enough, canning.

I’m not really sure where the canning part of that list came from. Between all of the wonderful farmers’ markets in the DC area, a twinge of homesickness and memories of the orchards and farms that surround my hometown, came the desire to roll up my sleeves and try to ‘put up’ food the old fashioned way.

The very next day, I walked into the Bethesda Paper Source to work. As fate would have it, we received our first copies of Food in Jars in that day’s shipment. Naturally, I took this as some sort of sign, and immediately purchased a copy, and of course called my mother.

“Isn’t that CRAZY?! I mean, I was just talking about this LAST NIGHT, and here this book shows up. It’s a sign. I need to go to Ace Hardware and buy supplies!”

My mom had an even better idea: drive back to Strasburg, Virginia, and use my grandmother’s canning equipment.

Later that week, my mother and I found ourselves sitting in the cool basement of my grandmother’s house loading up dozens of Mason jars, pots, lids and seals, all for me to cart back to DC and can to my heart’s content. Though canning was not necessarily a huge part of my grandmother’s life, something about using her things resonated with me. This was different than hanging a picture of her in my apartment, or wearing her wedding band on a chain around my neck. It was as if I was discovering a hidden treasure she had left for me, something she could share with me even if she couldn’t be there herself.

I selected several recipes from Food in Jars, and promptly took over the kitchen with my canning mission. I had success with Strawberry Vanilla Jam and also with Blueberry Butter, the last of which I brought in to share with my PS family.

With an introduction like this, you can imagine my excitement for each new Canning Jars product that comes into the store. Each notebook and tea towel is a reminder to me that sometimes that ‘thing’ you are looking for might be on its way, without you even suspecting it.

To celebrate this discovery I wanted to share some things I’ve made at the demo cart in our store, as well as a gift basket example of some commonly themed items. Enjoy!”

The tag attached to the basket reads:

We hope that our new Canning Jars artwork inspires you as much as it does us! Take your creative projects to the kitchen this fall and try your hand at canning. Food in Jars is an excellent how-to and cookbook guide to preserving foods. Our file folders, notebooks and notepad provide great organization for new recipes and grocery lists as well! Show off your new hobby with our tea towels and magnets- they’ll be sure to complement your kitchen with all of your new preserves! Lastly, browse our notecards, gift tags, burlap bags, stamps and autumnal inks to send out your homemade goodies in style.

–Scarlett C, PS Bethesda Associate
PS colors: fig, persimmon & paper bag
Latest fave: Canning Jars

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