Leaf Wrapped Mason Jars

Ahhhh! The fall season brings out the homebody in us all.  Were there ever such things as bathing suits and sunblock? If there were, I don't remember them.  Around this time of year, all I want to do is relax, sip a cup of hot tea and enjoy the glow of our fireplace and the smell of pumpkin spice candles.  Bringing warmth and ambiance into a home is easy and inexpensive with these leaf wrapped mason jars.  I bought the mason jars and leaves at Hobby Lobby, and the twine I found lying around in our garage. Yippy. I bought leaves that had a little bit of bend to them so they wrapped around the mason jars easily, but you can use any type of leaves you find.  I formed the leaves around the jars, tied the twine around them and made a bow.  I didn't want to melt votive candle inside, so I bought the small jar candles from Wal-mart and placed them inside.  No mess at the end of the candle.  When the candles are lit, a beautiful glow shines through the leaves.  It really is like having little fireplaces all over your house.

Silly Bands are the most appropriately named items in history

    If you don't know what Silly Bands are then you are either never around kids, teenager, or adults who think they are kids or teenagers, or you never leave your house.  Silly Bands are bracelets that take the shape of a particular item until they are on your wrist, then they just look like messed-up rubber bands.
    During a piano lesson last week, one of my students came in with both arms full to about mid-forearm of these silly bands. After the initial "You have got to be kidding me!" I winced at the very thought of wanting to cover my arms with tight plastic bands that did little for the support of healthy blood circulation.
     I had to comment.  "So that's a lot of Silly Bands you've got there." He was proud, very proud of his collection.
    "I have three hundred at home but only around forty on right now!" he beamed.  So proud.
     He then began to take them off.  What a process!! After a few minutes, he was free of his bands, and in their place were thick purple indentions.  Eeek! It looked like it hurt, and he said that, yes, sometimes it did, especially when he slept in them.  Um....no comment.
     So we untangled the mess, and he showed me some of his pride and joys: the football, the sun, the milkshake.  He even had a few to give me. (I hate to admit that they were actually really cute.)  He gave me a fairy, a mermaid, and a unicorn that glow in the dark.  We set them aside because I wasn't going to waste time waiting for him to put all five hundred of them back on his wrists (exaggeration).  During our entire lesson, there they sat in a jumbled mess.
      I don't quite understand the attraction to covering your arms from wrist to elbow with rubber bands, but every time I see one of these bands on one of my student's wrists, I have the intense urge to ask them, "Hey, what shape is THAT Silly Band?"  So silly, right? And thus, so appropriately named.

  He gave me these silly bands.  They glow in the dark!