With a Dash of Color: country decor

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Refreshing drinks in Mason Jars

Nothing says summer better than cooling down with a cool refreshing drink on a hot sweltering day!

How about cooling down with a light refreshing drink made from those sweet summer strawberries?

I love picking strawberries and blueberries from the local farms....and attending the strawberry festival in our town (forgot to take my camera so no pictures).It's so much fun and the kids love it!

From strawberry shortcakes, to milkshakes and Agua Frescas (a very popular Mexican drink made from strawberries or any other fruits in season), there are so many ways to enjoy strawberries:

For this wonderful quick and easy summer drink you need:

2 cups of fresh strawberries

1 cup of sugar syrup

1 cup of water

Ice cubes or crushed ice

Place the above ingredients in a blender ( I used a Smoothie maker, instead) and process it until smooth. If you prefer you can pour the liquid through a wire mesh strainer in order to remove the pulps and seeds. I prefer it pulpy, so I did not strain it.

The amount of sugar syrup can be adjusted depending on how sweet you want it. Garnish with mint sprigs or slices of lemon or strawberry.

I spray painted this wicker tray in red after taping off the handles. Then I painted a white border (acrylic paint) to go around the top edge of the tray. After that I removed the tape and painted gold acrylic paint on the handles.

For the bottom of the tray I decided to cover a piece of cardboard with remnant fabric scrap from some other project. I measured the length and width of the tray bottom. Then I cut a cardboard piece and two pieces of the fruit printed fabric according to the dimension of the tray bottom. Next I used Spray Glue on the cardboard pieces on both sides and attached my fabric pieces. And there you have it, no muss no fuss easy serving tray for all your summer entertaining:

To embellish this candle I just made two knots on either end of a cord and added two small white bone beads and two wooden beads and then just tied the beaded cord around the candle. Now it looks perfect for my summer tablescape:

Don't you just love Mason jars? They are so versatile and can be used in so many creative ways and they are found all over blogland. I just love 'em! Before I used to collect bags... all kinds from totes,satchels to clutches. But now I'm moved on to bottle collecting! Click HERE to view other uses of Mason jars and bottles.