Tue 6 Nov 2007
Spice girl
Posted by Melinda under Crafts
[23] Comments
Two years ago I made spice boxes for my friends as Christmas gifts. (Two years ago i didn’t have a craft blog, so I’ve got some catching up to do.) I had seen something similar in a fancy catalog somewhere and thought it looked pretty easy to re-create. So I called up Nerdberg Scientific, or some such appropriately named chemistry supply company, and bought a bunch of vials with corks. The Nerdberg guys acted slightly bothered with my request, but I think they were secretly pleased to get a break from the usual client. A good way to customize this gift is to pick a spice theme. For example my boyfriend likes to make chili, so I printed out a bunch of chili powder recipes and filled the vials with spices that the recipes called for.
23 Responses to “ Spice girl ”
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[...] Spice vials — test tubes filled with spices make a cooler-looking spice rack. That blogger also printed out recipes that use those spices, which is a pretty neat idea too. [...]
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[...] upcoming holidays–she puts me in a constant state of awe) 07. a clever and pretty idea for spice storage (or gift givage) from Mookie Moo 08. encouragement from Not Quite June Cleaver to give [...]
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[...] 30, 2008 in crafty, food, misc. saw this crafty idea of how to DIY a cool spin on the spice [...]
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[...] with a handmade ribbon bookmark. 41. Recipe scrapbook. 42. Vintage button kitchen curtains. 43. Spice boxes. 44. Photo sticker labels. 45. Remember Ramona’s tin can stilts? 46. Give lessons in something [...]
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[...] Homemade Spice Box – from Mookie Moo. Consider spice themes for this gift. A good Christmasy one might be Allspice, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Cloves. [...]
That’s awesome. Here are my questions:
Where did you get the vials?
And how did you label them?
I got the vials (thanks for the spelling correction) at a local chemistry supply company. I had to go over there and dig around before I found enough matching vials with corks that fit. But it was a fun field trip.
The labels were made from one of those Avery label packs you can find at Office Depot. Then on the Avery website you can download the printing templates.
Are you going to make one? What would be your top ten spices?
OK, I’m an ass. I just read (fancy that!) about where you got the vials. Calling Nerdberg Scientific now…
My top 10 spices:
1. Salt
2. Garlic
3. Rosemary
4. Chili
5. Tarragon
6. Cayenne
7. Salt
8. Curry
9. Cardamom
10. Turmeric
That’s a lot of salt. You could just get a wiener dog salt shaker instead of filling your vials with salt. Then you get an extra spice. (Or two, in your case). I forgot to add that a mortar and pestle is a good way to expand this gift. (Especially if you include whole spices)
This is a sweet idea. I might give this one a go! Thanks for sharing.
I just saw this (linked to by Craft magazine’s blog) and I love this idea! I am now on the hunt for vials. Thanks for the inspiration!
That’s so awesome, I’ll need to make some
Also will be awesome for housewarming parties etc…
yep, friends will be receiving this for Christmas!
thanks a bunch for sharing
This is super cute. You could also try displaying the spices on a test tube rack.
I LOVE that idea!! I use my spices like a mad woman and everyone in my family knows it so this would be a perfect gift for me to give! Thanks so much for sharing your creativeness!
What a lovely idea. When I’ve found a UK test-tube supplier I’m going to try too. I’d include thyme in my top ten and the smoked sea-salt I discovered on a trip to the sea life centre on Anglesey a few years ago.
Thanks, Dumbledad! I’d love to see how your version turns out. Robyn (in the comments) suggested using a test tube rack. I bet there are a million great ways to display the tubes, what are thinking of doing?
That sea salt sounds nice!
If you hang around the local science-supply place, my husband tells me, you see all sorts of skanky characters coming in to buy truckloads of test tubes. He mentioned it to his brother (my outlaw in-law, I call him for reasons which will become apparent) who said sure, that’s because with a low-temp torch and minimal glassworking ability, you can turn them into (ahem) water pipes. Which are (or were, until recently) not classified as “paraphenalia” as long as you insisted they were only to be used for cooling tobacco smoke. And you could sell for twenty bucks, which enabled you to buy, shall we say, non-tobacco products.
So, y’know, that might be why it bothered the Nerdberg guys. I suspect on the one hand that bothers the local place, but on the other hand enables them to stay afloat in the face of online competition.
When we revamp the kitchen, I’m kind of torn between doing this and a magnetic rack for the little Lee Valley canisters. If the Lee Valley stuff came in brass it’d be an easy decision.
I just came across this idea and love it! Can you let me know what size glass container you purchased? Have you made with 20 or 30 vials? If so, what would you recommend for container?
I’ve just Stumbled across this
I love the idea of creating little spice collections as gifts! You can get the vials, corks n all from Ebay if in the UK, you can also pick up various sized racks which would make a funky little display unit too.
As someone who works in science this is a perfect gift to give co-workers. I got a giggle out of the term “vials” for what are test tubes. Great idea!
My favorite gift to give during Christmas day is a fruit basket with toys and gift certificates. they can really put a smile on someone’s face`..