I am embarrassed to admit that when I finished making these Lupine exclaimed, "Mama, these are awesome! You HAVE to pin this!" Oh my. I've created a monster.
But really, I think she's right. So first I'm blogging them and then, yes, I'm going to pin the heck out of these just-about-free cups. Because we're crazy about them.
So stand back! Here goes.
Tonight we were heading out to cut our holiday tree. But our travel cups are missing. (Still packed from the move, lost in a box in the barn somewhere.) And frankly, our straw cups didn't stand up the the abuses of daily life like we had hoped. All of the plastic and silicone parts have started to break or tear. Bummer.
But we're handy people.
So I grabbed a couple of mason jars, some canning lids, and a my cordless drill. The missing straw cups were replaced (forever!) in a hurry.
Because yes, with almost no assistance I made BPA-free travel cups in about 3 mintues. You have no idea how satisfying that is right now. It's nearly bliss.
I choose Tattler lids, but you could also use a standard metal canning jar lid. (Why did I choose plastic? Normally I scorn the stuff but it feels like a much safer choice than the BPA lined metal lids that also dwell in my pantry. I have been using Tattler lids for my canning for the past two years and frankly I trust them more than I do the BPA-lined lids.)
These would be the perfect bedside bottle too to keep your kids night-time drink from steeping in plastic.
Want to make one? I knew you would.
So here's the skinny.
Supplies
1 mason jar with two-piece lid (standard canning jar type)
1 stainless steel drinking straw (I picked mine up here)
Cordless drill and suitably sized bit to make a hole the size of your straw
Optional teeny-tiny drill bit for air hole
How To
1. Find a bit the size of your straw (or a smidge bigger, at most). To find the right size for mine I slipped my straw into my bit holder. It just fit into the 15/64".
2. Drill a hole off-set towards the edge of your lid. If you are going to occasionally use the lid without the straw, place the hole closer to the edge than I did. (Just inside the gasket.)
If desired, use your smallest bit to add an air hole. We made ours both ways and I prefer the air hole but it isn't necessary. You have to suck pretty hard on the straw without it, but it will be less likely to leak if you leave it off. It's really up to you. We made four cups in all and Pete opted out of the air hole, the rest of us went for it. (But maybe that was just because I let the kids drill their own.)
And voila! Instant straw cups. I've been using mine all day without the straw in and it works great as a lidded travel cup this way. Versitle! Double awesome.
(Please ignore the boxes.)
Use your stash yarn to knit a mason jar cozy and you've got a sweet Solstice gift for pennies.
So that's it. Now go make stuff!
Love,
Rachel
Edited to add: I loved this project so much I made a zillion of them for my business. If you would rather buy than make, the go here! They're pretty fabulous.
