Monday, August 31, 2015

Painted Mason Jars

Mason Jars are all the rage right now and while I usually don't jump on a fad I must admit I like the look these versatile beauties can bring to your décor.

Mason jars come in so many shapes and sizes that you can really let your imagination run with how to use them in your décor or everyday life.  I know you've seen them as drinking glasses heck I even saw one glued to a short candlestick being sold for over ten dollars each as a redneck wine glass.  My gosh you could buy a case of mason jars and dollar store candlesticks and glue them yourself for less than that! 

Here is my finished product.

I chose to do 4 jars but you can do as many as you want, even 1 would be a nice touch to your fall décor. 

So you will need: 
1.  Mason Jars - I bought a case of pint jars at Walmart for $6.00.  Mine have no name on them because I decided that wasn't the look I was going for but you could buy them with a name on them to give them some extra texture.

2.  Paint.  I just bought craft paint from the craft store.  I did purchase several different kinds, chalk, gloss and matt paints.  I bought the smallest tubes possible.  Colors of your choosing.  I did traditional fall colors of orange, yellow, red and light brownish grey. 

3.  Jute, rope, twine or something to wrap around the neck of the jar. 

4.  Charms, bells or some embellishment to jazz up the jars.  You could use buttons or just a simple bow depending on the look you want. 

5.  Paint brush, water and a paper plate

6.  Scissors

7.  Plastic bags - 2 (1 for your hand if you don't want to get your hand messy and 1 to place the jars on to dry). 

8.  Some sort of faux flowers or leaves etc. to put in your jars.  I bought 'picks' at Hobby Lobby when they were 40% off. 

Lets get started!
First clean your jars really well.  Since I got mine brand new I just washed them with soapy water and let them dry thoroughly.  If you are recycling jars after you wash them it is recommended that you wipe them off with rubbing alcohol and let them dry well.  The rubbing alcohol will take off any residue that may be on the jar. 

Next - Let's paint! 
If you don't want your hands to get messy wear gloves or put a plastic bag over your hand. 
I poured some paint onto a paper plate and used that as my pallet.  Make sure you wash your brush thoroughly between colors. 
Let the jars dry really well between coats otherwise you may pull off the under coat when painting the next layer.  I let mine dry overnight between each coat of paint. 
The photo above is 1 coat of paint. 

TIP - DO NOT use paper like I did to dry your jars as the paint will dry to the paper which equals stuck jars.  Then you'll spend time picking or scraping off the paper from around the lid.  Use a plastic bag to dry your jars.

I did 2 coats of paint on each jar. 

OPTION 1 - After several coats of paint you could take a piece of sandpaper and lightly rub some of the paint off.  This would give a more rustic effect to the jars. 
OPTION 2 - You could give the jars and even more rustic effect by painting them brown first then your color, say yellow, then when dry use sandpaper to expose some of the brown coats underneath. 

Next I just got some twine and wrapped it around the neck of each jar.  I wrapped until I liked the look; you can wrap once or multiple times as I did.  I left the ends long so I could string a bell and an acorn charm through each end of the twine then knot them to hold everything secure.

OPTION - You could use a ribbon or raffia instead of twine to wrap the jar neck.  You could also leave the jar neck exposed. 

Finally I got some faux flora picks from Hobby Lobby and put them in the jars.  You could use real flowers for a very pretty look as well.

Other options for the jars:
OPTION1 - Tape a stencil on the jar and only paint the stencil area.  Pick a fall type of stencil or you could spell out the word 'FALL' one letter on each jar. 
OPTION 2 - You could do the reverse.  Instead of only painting the stencil area, paint everything BUT the stencil area.  This would leave the reverse clear glass.  Now you can fill the jar with acorns, beans, dried corn or stones then put a tea light candle in the jar.  The candle will shine through the clear stencil part.  This could be really pretty. 

Next week is a holiday week I'll be blogging late, probably on Wednesday but I'll be sharing my front porch.  I think I've finally got it to where I like it. 
Also upcoming is a fall house tour then a Halloween craft with the mason jars - hey I've got a whole case of them to find uses for! 

As always I'm on FB - you have to interact with the page to see it on your newsfeed so give it a like or comment.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dragonflies-and-Thistles/491393717621010?ref=hl

I'm much more active on Pintrest, heck I've burned dinner 'pinning'! 
https://www.pinterest.com/vicdenniso/

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I truly appreciate you reading and your support.  Until next week have a happy Labor Day holiday and Stay Safe!
Victoria

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