Blueberries & blue Ball jars

Antique malls have carried those vintage blue Ball Mason jars for most of my collecting life, and I've used them as flower vases and for other purposes myself. Lately, though, they seem to really be having their star turn in magazines and on decorating blogs. And as with regular clear Mason jars, I think these pint-sized blue versions make terrific tea glasses!

When tea friend Lisa recently shared on her blog about finding reproductions at Target very inexpensively (mine were just $10.99 for six), I knew I had to have some!

I recently returned from my parents' home with more fresh blueberries from their bushes. What to make, what to make? Well, blueberry-infused simple syrup for iced tea struck my fancy this time!

Simple syrup is something many of us have probably made before to sweeten our iced tea in summer. The recipe couldn't be any easier: 1 cup water + 1 cup sugar. Boil. Let cool and add mint leaves if you like that flavor combo. This time, instead of the mint I added 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, letting the mixture boil until the berries started to pop, just as I do when making cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. After the mixture cooled a bit, I strained off the berries and had blueberry-infused simple syrup for summertime tea sipping! (I could have poured it in one of the blue jars, but I wanted to show you the bright purple color.)

My Blue ball jars came from the Target store in Carrollton, by the way, because I couldn't find them at the one in Newnan. I wish I'd bought more, so I may have to make a return trip. I love that these great Heritage Collection pint jars are 100th anniversary editions, and if you don't live near a Target, I've found they're readily available online. (Who in the midwest lives near a Mills Fleet Farm store? They're just $6.99 for six there right now!) I'm going to use one of my jars for corralling pens, one or two for seashells, and I'm thinking I could use a dozen as glasses for my (future) beach house. How would you use these jars?