Sugru Emma Jar Gasket

As the holiday season approaches, you'll need a place to put some treats. Or maybe just a jar with a tight lid for your craft project supplies? How about airtight storage of seasonal spices and herbs? So-called "Emma jars" are popular and have many uses, so it's a shame when the all-important gasket seal breaks. No need to toss the whole jar, Sugru to the rescue!

You will need

• An Emma jar with a broken or missing gasket
• 3-5 mini packs (5g. each) of various colored Sugru depending on the diameter of the jar and the size of handle you want.
• Scissors for trimming
• Fingers to form and blend the Sugru
• A good book to read while you wait for the Sugru to cure
• Stuff to put in the jar at the end so you have that magical sense of satisfaction.

If you don't have one, head to the thrift shop (say hi to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for me).

We used red Sugru since it was closest to the original color. In order to get enough width we had to build up the gasket with several strings of Sugru.

Run the first string into the groove in the lid and then use your fingers to mold additional strings. Check after each string is applied to see how the lid fits. This was done empirically, since it is difficult to measure.

Once there is enough Sugru on the lid, form it so that it tapers to a thin edge. It should be slightly LARGER than the jar. If you gently place the lid on the jar you should see a circular indentation of the lip of the jar on the soft Sugru. Make sure that indentation makes a full circle in the Sugru with no breaks. You will trim it later after drying, but if there's a break in the indentation there won't be a tight seal.

But wait! You can also improve the jar in addition to fixing it. We added a tab on the lid as a convenient handle.

Blend some brown Sugru. The handy recipe card showed 60% yellow, 30% red and 10% black. This turned out a little darker than we wanted but you can make your own color.

The shape and size of the handle is up to you. We went with traditional tab.

Once formed the handle is secured to the lid with a bit of pressure.

Now you must wait overnight. It's hard to do, but we suggest reading a good book.

After the Sugru is completely cured, it will be too large to fit into the jar. Carefully trim it with a sharp scissors. You may want to put the lip of jar into an inkpad and then mark the line you trim to by placing the lid on the inked jar. If you are not sure, trim less than you think is needed. You want a tight seal but don't force it since the jar could break.

Just not all at once. That would be nasty. Enjoy!