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Pimp That Preserve 2012: The Winners!

We’re pleased to share the ‘winners’ from our 2012 version of “Pimp That Preserve!”  “Winners’ is in quotes because I think anyone who submitted or was inspired by the ideas this awesome community came up with were all winners.

Just like last year (and as we announced in advance), we name a honorary winner based on who gets the most votes.  Because we don’t want to make this a competition on who has the most friends on Facebook, we give away prizes at random (each ‘like’ a photo got counts as a vote so the people who did get more votes have more ballots).  We’ve decided to furnish a prize for the honorary winner as well as 3 others.

Dana is working on an original design/ print or piece of art for each of our 4 winners.  We’ll send an email to each this week and will ship your piece when it’s complete sometime in the next month (as any preserver knows, a little extra patience is well worth the wait)!

Without further adieu, here’s our winners from 2012!

The People’s Choice with the most votes is this amazing Christmas scene created by Alex (of Plaid Raspberries) – it even lights up!

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Naked Jam and Pickles? Deadline Extended for Pimp That Preserve

We’re pleased to share that we’re extending the deadline for entering the third annual Pimp That Preserve to this Sunday Evening at 6:00PM EST!  We’ve got some great entries already but we know we’re not going to be able to tie them together in a post for the next few days so an extension only makes sense…

Not sure how to enter?  Check out the original post here.  Looking for inspiration?  Check out our posts from the last 2 years here as well as the 50+ entries from last year here (the last link is a Facebook album but you don’t need Facebook to see it).

Pimp that Preserve ~ inspiration

Last one! (I’d love to do more and will post if I do). Now it’s up to you! One more week to come up with some ways to doll up your preserves. The Deadline has been extended to Friday December 14. Send me your photos (640 pixels wide if you can please) to contests at wellpreserved dot ca. For more detailed information see the link at the bottom of this post, along with a link to previous years for more inpspiration!

This is one of my (esthetically) favourite preserves we did this year. I can’t stop looking at them, they’re so beautiful. The last thing I want to do is cover them up…so I thought a little gold leaf was in order. You’ll be surprised at how easy this is. You can buy a gold leafing kit at a lot of art or craft stores. This was Speedball simple leaf (fyi, neither Speedball or Sharpie sponsored these posts, I just use a lot of their stuff…maybe next year..haha!). You paint a liquid adhesive on the jar with a brush..paint words or a pattern or whatever…because this was my first time using the stuff, i wanted a loose look so it would be okay if it didn’t turn out perfectly. I hand painted ‘happy holidays’ on the jar with the adhesive and let it dry then stuck the gold leaf on as per the instructions on the package…a little messy, but super pretty. Green and Red and Gold … pretty festive I’d say!

Can’t wait to see more of your ideas! send them along to contests@wellpreserved.ca

Here’s the main post for ‘Pimp that Preserve 2012′

if you’d like to get some inspiration from previous years here they are:

**click here for 2010 and 2011 inspiration!**

Pimp that Preserve ~ inspiration

Lucky you! There’s still plenty of time to dress up your preserves and send us a photo! We’ve extended the deadline for ‘Pimp that Preserve’ to Friday December 14! Full details in the link at the bottom of this post. Here’s another photo that will hopefully inspire you to do a few of your own and gift some preserves! I keep hearing how busy everybody is this year…I hear ya! We’re writing our final exam for the Food Security course this weekend, Holiday preparations are in full swing, joel has been traveling for work, I’ve been freelancing away from my home office and Shaeffer’s in another dog training class….etc. etc. yikes! It’s been nice to take a bit of a break and play with the preserves. I wanted to show you guys how quick and easy it can be…this one…was like therapy! A little break to doodle with a paint pen, right on the jar (I painted the lid with some paint leftover from our living room, oh…did I mention I painted the living room too?).

Sharpie makes these awesome paint pens, if you use the oil based one’s on your jars they’re much harder to get off…but the poster paint ones are great for temporarily marking windows or doodling on jars. It will come off with soapy water and a little scrubbing and be ready for next years batch. Tomato sauce is like a blank canvas in so many ways…today, it makes a nice background for some doodles!

Can’t wait to see more of your ideas! send them along to contests@wellpreserved.ca

Here’s the main post for ‘Pimp that Preserve 2012′

if you’d like to get some inspiration from previous years here they are:

**click here for 2010 and 2011 inspiration!**

 

Pimp that Preserve 2012 ~ inspiration

We’re coming up on the deadline for this years ‘Pimp that Preserve’!

Next week is looking SUPER busy for us so I’ve decided to extend the deadline to NEXT friday (December 14th)! We’ll post them on the 17th for your voting pleasure and declare a winner before Christmas. In the mean time, come back here over the next few days for a few of our own ‘pimped up’ preserves. Hopefully we can inspire you to send one in or do a few more. It’s easy, and fun (and an excellent way to procrastinate studying! not that I advise that or anything…but that’s what I’ve been doing!). Anyway…here’s the first one. Couple more to come!

 

See how super simple!? We use kraft paper to wrap any and all presents in our house (also used for table cloths and random brainstorming sessions), I buy a GIANT roll and it lasts almost 2 years…always handy. I had an end piece left over so I decided to do a couple of tiny linocuts. Lino block printing is pretty much like making your own stamps. The two little rubbery looking squares in the photo are the stamps, these ones are cut from Speedball easy cut…it’s super soft so very easy to cut, you can pick up the basic tools at most craft supply stores (very inexpensive). For artwork I prefer mounted brown lino, but easycut is great for this type of thing when you want that slightly messy, not a lot of detail look. I used the blocks to stamp all over a little piece of kraft paper, then stamped a matching tag and wrapped twine around the top. Super easy, and fun. Relief printmaking is a great way to craft your own custom patterns and labels for your preserves.

Can’t wait to see more of your ideas! send them along to contests@wellpreserved.ca

Here’s the main post for ‘Pimp that Preserve 2012′

if you’d like to get some inspiration from previous years here they are:

**click here for 2010 and 2011 inspiration!**

 

 

Contest – Pimp that Preserve 2012

The shame! They’re probably cold AND embarrassed!

You’ve been working hard at preserving all spring/summer/fall, you’ve got loads of full jars stashed away in your pantry (closet, underthebed, behindthecouch, alloftheabove). You’re thinking…will i really be able to EAT all of this? The answer is probably yes, but if you’re like us and you’re feeling the generosity of the season (and might want to get other people hooked on preserving) you’ll be compelled to share some of your hard work.

Preserves make AWESOME GIFTS! (Just ask most of our friends/family). While nudity is welcome when it comes to preserves (what?! did I just say that?), it ads to the fun to dress them up a bit…add a little mystery to the giving, or just make them feel even more special.

So, we are embarking on our annual contest:

Where everyone can share their ideas, and get inspired to share their preserves…whether it’s gifting or swapping.
(Do you know how hard it is to write an ‘appropriate’ post with words pimping and swapping in it? i’m already worried about the pingbacks..agh! What have we done in the name of fun!). We’ll be sharing some ideas of our own throughout the weeks leading up.

Here’s what to do:

  • Embellish, package or otherwise ‘dress up’ your favourite  jar of preserves with anything you like as long as it doesn’t damage the contents or break the seal.
  • Send us a JPG of your creation to contests at wellpreserved dot ca subject line: Pimp my Preserve 2012.
All entries must be received by 10pm EST December 9 2011.
We will post the entries on FaceBook and give you a week to vote (and get your friends and family etc. to vote too!).
We’ll announce winners on the 17th!
*We’ll keep you posted on prizes…haven’t figured out that part yet, but it might involves some limited edition print of some sort!

Details on how this will work:

  1. Send your photos by December 9, 10 PM EST
  2. We’ll share all the photos on our FaceBook Group in an album (and share the link).
  3. We’ll open up to the public for votes (*Like* the image is a vote)
  4. *Like* as many images as you want, get your friends to *Like* yours too
  5. You are welcome to enter multiples but be selective – the more you have up, the more you will compete with yourself!
  6. The person with the most ‘likes’ will be named the honorary winner and win bragging rights.
  7. We’ll share our designs but we’re not competing.
  8. Every like on a photo will count as a ballot (so the person with the most likes has the greatest chance of winning) for a prize, there will be at least 3! Prizes won’t arrive until the New Year.

We’re using the hashtag #PimpThatPreserve on Twitter and Instagram so feel free to share.

Looking for inspiration?  Check out our posts from the last 2 years here as well as the 50+ entries from last year here (the last link is a Facebook album but you don’t need Facebook to see it).

PSA: Pimp That Preserve III Is In The Works

We are about a month away from our third annual Pimp That Preserve contest!

For those who are new to it, Pimp That preserve will start sometime in November.  Participants (who are mostly ‘competing’ for fun and to share/ get ideas for decorating jars with many different holidays approaching) decorate jars and share photos of their entires.  There’s no cost to enter and people can enter multiple times.  Dana will post some of her ideas to help promote/ inspire ideas.  We often have a few small prizes but the main intent is to share and have fun together.

If you want to see some of the entries from previous years (or some of the jars Dana decorates to help inspire/ conspire), check out our archive of jar decorating ideas!

There were more than 100 entries last year and we hope to make this one the biggest one yet!  Start combing thrift stores, old cabinets and ‘mystery boxes’ for ideas – soon enough it will be time to share your pimped up jars for the world to see!

Pimp That Preserve 2011 is Over… Time for Prizes!

Another year of Pimp That Preserve is over!

I want to send a giant thank you to all of you who participated – giant thanks to you for decorating jars, voting, sharing and cheering each other on.  I`m particularilly proud of how this community supports one another and saw plenty of `competitors`openly voting for other people`s jars and sharing encouragement.  It`s been a particularly exciting year for us – from Mario Batali retweeting our message about Pimp That Preserve, to the staggering amount of entries and almost 1,500 votes, we were really blown away by your responses.

It`s time to divvy up the prizes and, while we`re excited to be naming some prize winners, we really all hope you had fun and enjoyed.  You`re all winners in our eyes (I know I`m a cheeseball).

Without further delay, let`s start with the random prizes:

Prize 1 – We Sure Can (book) by Sarah B. Hood (includes a few recipes from us)

The winner of this is Marilla from Cupcake Rehab.  She submitted her pimped up Champagne Jelly

Prize 2 – Autographed Copy of Hip Girls Guide to Homemaking

The winner of this is Kate (Snowflake Kitchen).  Her branded jars got people talking (as did her glittery pickle on a jar of pickels as part of a seperate entry):

Prize 3 – Archival Print of the Periodic Table of Waterbath Preserving

Laura Watt from Cubit`s Organic Living for her rockin`cider jars:

Grand Prize – Bragging Rites

Amy of the Lamm Farm wins for having the most votes on any photo – and we love the story that comes with these fabulous jars (she grew the lavendar that`s on the inside and outside of the jar).  We`ve decided to donate an extra copy of our archival poster so Amy will walk away with a memory of her moment in the sun!

To see all the entries, flip through our FaceBook album (you don`t need an account to see them) – and thank you to everyone who joined in!  We hope you`ll join in again next year!

Pimp That Preserve – Only 2 More Days of Voting!

Have you voted yet?

We have really been blown away by the response to this years “Pimp That Preserve” – more than 1,000 votes were casted in the first 24 hours.  If you haven’t had your say, pop on over to FaceBook (you have to have an account to vote but anyone can view the pictures) and click ‘LIKE’ on the ones you like the most.  There’s some great inspiration for the Holidays and ideas on how to wrap your jars in many, many ways…

Voting ends Wednesday, December 21 at 8:00PM est.  Winners will be announced Thursday.

I also have to say just how much I love seeing the sense of community – people are voting for each others pieces, sharing nice comments and celebrating the community passion for preserving.

We said at the start of this contest that we would name an honourary winner and that we would have a draw for the prizes (prizes being given to those who designed the jars).  When we received the photos and posted them we shared that we had a dilemma - some people had sent many photos of the same product, some sent only one and some sent one that was a collage of a few pictures.  I said we’d try to figure out the fairest way to declare a winner and distribute the prizes (if I submit 5 photos and you submit 1, I can vote for myself 5 times and you can only vote for yourself once).  So here’s what we’ve decided:

  • We will judge different entries by the same person as different entries (i.e. not group them together just because they were made by the same person)
  • Most of the jars have at least two aspects to them – the jar and the lid.
  • Regardless of how many photos a nominee submitted we will:
    • Combine the total number of likes of their 2 most popular photos of the same preserve.
    • If there’s only 1 photo of said preserve, we will double the likes to even things out.

I’ve run the numbers a few times and believe this will be the fairest to account for the amount of amazing entires we received.  If you have any concerns, send me an email (joel (a) elevenideas.ca).

So get on over and cast your votes!