Nuts & Bolts Part 2

This is such a "Go-To" gift for me.  Mostly because I know that when I share Dad's Nuts & Bolts, people can't resist them. 

This year I made a full batch to use for gifts...
OK, you got me, I didn't use all of it for gifts ;) 

Both the dance studios I work at have been very understanding and caring in light of my Dad's passing, and I owe some of the girls big time for subbing for me while I was away. 

Enter, Daddy Lou's Nuts & Bolts.....festively presented.

I hope you have hoarded some good sized glass jars with lids.  Great!  To get that pesky label off, soak the jar in hot water in the sink for a while.  Ideally the label should lift right off.  If there's some glue left on the jar, grab your plastic dish scrubber and scrub it off in the hot water. Voila! Make sure to run them through the dishwasher so they are nice a clean.

Once the jars are dry, fill them up. 

Now, no one wants to get a lovely jar of Nuts & Bolts, with a Paul Newman spaghetti sauce lid.  Spray paint to the rescue!
( I touched it up with some black acrylic paint to make sure everything was covered)

Once the spray paint is dry, close the jars.

Next grab your favourite festive ribbon, preferably french ribbon (with the wire edges).  Cut about a 2 foot long section and wrap around the lip of the jar and tie in a beautiful big bow!

 Cut ends in points.  To get that perfect ribbon end, fold ends in half legnthwise, and cut on a diagonal from the 'outside' for the ribbon, up to the 'middle' (fold) of the ribbon (pictured on left).

Fluff bow appropriately. Or if the ends are too short, tuck them into the bow like in the picture on the right, above. Sneaky!

And there you go!  You could always add the recipe in a card and attach the card to the jar (I do that sometimes-but I'm stingy with the recipe) 

This is such an easy gift to make and give.  Plus people always love to get handcrafted holiday gifts, not to mention delicious goodies in said gifts!

Stay tuned-tomorrow I share my Dad's Classic Holiday Cocktail.  You won't want to miss it!