Mother’s Day Mason Jar Craft

Cast your mind back to Mother’s Days gone by – what do you remember? Tissue paper flowers with pipe cleaner stems? Gluey cards with glittery designs?  A little clay bowl with a mixture of your ornate pencil carvings and smudged thumbprints? The excitement of hiding your piece of craft, lovingly constructed at your school desk until that lovely moment when you could throw your arms around your mum and present her proudly with your creation?

The most special gifts are made with love and crafted with pride.  Our Gin Master Simon Buley has built his craft through this philosophy and hand-picks the botanicals from the hills surrounding the breath-taking setting of Balmenach Distillery in the Cairngorms National Park when they’re in season. Dandelions, Coul Blush Apple, bog myrtle and rowan berries are infused in every clear, crisp, floral and fruity drop of Caorunn. 

The passion for local provenance and the desire in knowing where food and drink come from has fueled the foraging trend; people want to enjoy the ingredients that are literally on their doorstep, feel connected to their surroundings and enjoy nature’s larder and urban harvest.  There are rules to follow to ensure that you forage in a responsible, safe and ethical manner (there’s a fantastic guide to foraging here.)

This new hunter-gather trend has become a big thing in the foodie world, with chefs and foodies exploring the taste of their natural surroundings, whether it's their local forest, seashore, countryside or an urban park.

Chefs are now creating menus with a particular focus on wild food, but the resurgence in wild ingredients isn’t limited to the foodies; craft hobbyists are also enjoying the trend for getting into nature to forage and find interesting and unique additions for their crafty creations, which might be something you’d enjoy doing to create something extraordinary this Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day Mason Jar with Caorunn Truffles

What you’ll need:

• Mason jar
• Glass Glue
• Twine
• A washer

Your choice of decorative elements – depending on where you live this could be items from the seashore; berries, twigs and leaves from a country walk or even a selection of natural items and herbs from your garden or a place that’s special to you and your mum.

How to make:

1. Hold the twine on the centre of the jar, about a third of the way up and glue it
2. Once the glue is dry, wrap the twine around the jar in lines, one at a time
3. Once you have the desired amount of twine wrapped around the jar, stop in the middle and cut enough twine to wrap around the jar again a couple of times.
4. Thread the washer through the twine and place on the centre of the jar
5. Start to arrange your flowers/herbs/leaves/twigs by threading through the washer
6. Wrap the remaining twine through, pull tightly around the jar and glue

 Once you’ve crafted your Mason jar, you can look forward to creating the most delicious treats to place inside to add some luxury to your gift.

We would recommend the Gin Orange and Lime Chocolate Truffles recipe created by food, lifestyle and fitness blogger Amanda Bootes.  They’re also gluten-free and bring Caorunn’s floral, subtle punch to life with this indulgent chocolate pairing.

Ingredients

• 100g Elizabeth Shaw Orange Crisp Chocolates.
• 2 tbsp Double Cream
• 2 tbsp Caorunn Gin
• Zest and Juice of ½ Lime
• 50g Unsalted Butter
• Grated Chocolate to roll- or cocoa powder to dust

Method

Melt the chocolate and the cream over a bain-marie of simmering water.

Pour in Caorunn, Lime zest and juice and butter and whisk until the ingredients are smooth and slightly thickened.

Place in a bowl and cover- place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight.

Once chilled, scoop and roll into balls and place on a tray and chill for another hour.

Coat your truffles in grated chocolate or cocoa powder and ENJOY.

We wish you and your mum a wonderful Mother’s Day and hope you enjoy the pleasure of crafting something unique you’ve gathered in your favourite outdoors place.