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Gift Wrap Crafts

Add your special touch to a gift wrapping

Gift Wrap Crafts

Add your special touch to a gift wrapping
 
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Gift Wrap CraftsValentine's Day Crafts

Easy Jar Lid Covers

Recycle an empty jar!
Example jar lid covers
What you will make:

Turn any jar into something special with a jar lid cover that you can quickly make from paper. Make a cover for that special homemade jelly, or top off a recycled jar filled with treats. Use the templates in the project to make heart-decorated Valentine's Day lid covers, shamrock-decorated St. Patrick's Day covers or gratitude jar lid covers; print one of the circle templates on the back of decorative paper, or create your own custom-sized lid cover following the instructions in the project. Anyone will be delighted to receive a gift with a handsome lid cover. Have a favorite recipe? For a quick gift, fill a jar with the recipe ingredients, include the printed recipe, and then top off the jar with a custom lid cover.

Brighten your pantry shelves with jar lid covers. Start with the printable dry bean and pea lid cover templates, and then make covers of your own design for other pantry staples. The 5" jar lid covers fit the lids on standard large-mouth jars used in canning.

Make a gratitude jar decorated with the Thankful Cover and filled with messages of thanks to gift to someone special. Or leading up to Thanksgiving, have the family help fill the jar with messages of thanks and gratitude written on slips of paper. On Thanksgiving, pull messages from the jar to read to each other.

While the covers are easy to make, they allow for creativity. Use rubber stamps, stencils, or doodles to decorate the lid covers. Make each lid cover by cutting a circle from wrapping paper and then create a coordinating Gift Tag by cutting a motif from the same paper. Use decorative paper to make the lid cover, then decoupage designs cut from the paper onto the jar. Your options are endless!

Related crafts: Check out Aunt Annie's other Gift Wrap crafts for more gift wrapping and decoration ideas.

Here's what you need:
  • Computer paper, decorative paper, wrapping paper, or tissue paper
  • Rubber band
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Pencil and plate or bowl for tracing a circle
  • Optional: Decorative-edge scissors, rubber stamps and stamp pad, colored pencils, hairspray, acrylic varnish, foam brush, wax paper

This project is rated VERY EASY to do.

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Before you start
  • Make a place to work.
  • Read all of the directions.
  • Gather everything you need to do the project.
  • Think about the project. Imagine how it will look and what you will do with it.
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How to Make Jar Lid Covers from Paper

Read all of the steps before starting.
Measure lid Step 1: Determine Size

First, you need to figure out the size of the lid cover. To do this, measure across the top of your lid to get its diameter. Add two or three inches to this measurement to get the diameter of the circle for your lid cover. Check the size by cutting the circle from scrap paper and testing how it covers the lid. Make size adjustments as needed

Tip: If your lid is deep, or you want a longer ruffle, add another inch or so to the diameter of the lid cover circle.

Step 2: Plan Lid Cover Design Paper selection

Imagine the design you want to appear on the lid cover and what colors you would like. You can use just about any lightweight paper for the lid cover. Wrapping paper, tissue paper, printed napkins, and decorative craft paper all work well.

You can also use plain white or colored paper with your own designs. Since the lid cover is a circle, you might want to place a graphic in the center of the circle or around the edge.

Example designs

For an easy print-and-cut lid cover, use one of Aunt Annie's printable patterns.

Trace circle on paper

Tip: Find a plate or lid that is the same size as the lid cover circle, and trace around it on the back of the paper using a pencil.

Step 3: Choose a Pattern and Print It (optional)

For easy print-and-cut lid covers, select one of these printable patterns. The colored patterns can be printed on white paper, and the black-and-white versions can be printed on colored paper. The circle patterns come in three sizes and are meant to be printed on the back of decorative papers like Aunt Annie's digital downloads.

5" Border Covers
Printable pattern for 5" lid covers with border
5" Heart Covers
Printable pattern for lid covers with hearts
5" Shamrock Covers
Printable pattern for lid covers with shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day
5" Thankful Covers
Printable pattern for thankful/gratitude jar lid covers
5" Bean Covers
Printable pattern for lid covers with beans
5" Pea Covers
Printable pattern for lid covers with peas
5" Covers
5" circle pattern for lid covers
B&W
4" and 6" Covers
4" and 6" circle patterns for lid covers
B&W

Patterns are Adobe PDF files. The Adobe Reader is available for free.

All of Aunt Annie's Crafts project patterns are designed to be printed on standard letter-size paper (8.5"x11" or A4). When printing from Adobe Reader, you may need to select "Auto-Rotate and Center" or "Choose paper source by PDF page size" to ensure the best fit.

Step 4: Cut
Cut out lid cover

Cut out the lid cover on the printed or traced circle outline. Be careful to cut a neat, smooth circle. If you have decorative-edge scissors, use them to make a pretty edge.

Step 5: Decorate (optional)
Stamp lid cover

If you made a plain paper lid cover or printed a border pattern, use rubber stamps, stencils, or colored pencils to decorate the lid cover.

Step 6: Seal (optional)
Seal lid cover

To protect your lid cover from getting dirty, spray it lightly with hairspray. Before spraying, place the lid cover on a piece of waxed paper. Alternatively, you can apply one or two coats of acrylic varnish to the lid cover. This protects the design and makes the paper shiny and more pliable.

Step 7: Cover Jar Lid
Put cover on lid

To put your cover on the jar lid, you will need a rubber band. Center the cover on the lid and use your hands to fold down the sides. Hold the sides in place while another person places the rubber band around the lid and lid cover. You may want to use your fingers to curl the edges upward.

Tip: You may find it easier to use thicker rubber bands.

Ribbon ties

As a finishing touch, you can tie ribbon over the rubber band, wrap cord around the rubber band, or use elastic cord in place of the rubber band.

That's it! Your jar lid cover is done! Example jar lid covers

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