In my attempt at balancing beauty and bedlam, it’s all about embracing life’s little pleasures and my love of all things  Mason Jars definitely tops the list in the home decor world.

Adorable painted mason jars

One of my favorite posts from years ago, included 50 varying ways to use Mason Jars, and at least 25 of them, I’ve already implemented in my own home. Mason Jars are such an easy way to incorporate beautiful touches of ambiance without having to spend a lot of money.  I pick mason jars up at yard sales, thrift stores, and now even the dollar store carries them.

Since so many know of my collection, I often receive calls from my friends asking if they can borrow the jars  for a party, reception or any time a little candle is needed.

Yes, I have enough to furnish a wedding reception. I told you I LOVED them. 🙂

There are just so many options for decorating with them and I’ve shared before how my love of spray painting also comes into play with glass items.  I don’t limit myself to painting only mason jars.

If I want to change up my home decor or get ready for a party, years ago I started shopping my house and  spray painting everything in its way. The kids now know to move on over or they’ll be next. 🙂 I even did a funny little Trash to Treasure video on using glassware to decorate.

Flicker

You can paint any kind of glass jars, applying the paint inside, like above, or painting the outside, as with my mason jars. Obviously, it doesn’t have to be mason jars, but I love the vintage, distressed look of them.

It’s so very simple, and I know you are excited, so let’s get started. Trust me, do not make this harder that it is. It’s the easiest craft ever with such wonderful results.

 

Items you will need:

  • Any kind of glass jars
  • Chalk type paint or flat acrylic craft paint for matte look. Eggshell or glossy for more shiny appearance.
  • Paint brush (I have used the foam ones from $1 store, which are great)
  • Fine sandpaper, sanding block or nail file (for distressing the words)
  • Wax or poly, all purpose sealer to avoid scratches

Instructions:

  • Make sure your jars are clean and thoroughly dried.
  • Pick colors. If you want to achieve the ombre look that I did, I used two colors – duck egg blue and an acrylic white. I began with straight blue paint for the first jar, added some white for the second jar, and for the third I used white, with a dash of blue.
  • Apply your first coat of paint to the mason jar and let this dry completely!  It’s so hard to wait. If you are in a hurry for last minute party decorations, go ahead, but know that these jars will most likely need to be repainted evenutally. Painting coat after coat on top of wet paint is what causes the paint to scrape off more easily.
  • Apply enough coats to achieve the look you want. I only needed two coats.
  • Decide how much of a distressed look you want. Mine are only slightly distressed, so I lightly sanded the raised edges, but you can sand places on the jar as well. I began with regular sand paper, but since I had let my paint cure so well, the paint was adhering really well, so a little use of a metal nail file on the raised parts worked great. Brush off any remnants of the sanding.
  • Apply your protective top coat. Without this, the paint may chip off over time if they get handled a lot. Granted, this will add to the distressed look, but if you are going to use them outdoors, I highly recommend this. I already had wax on hand that I used for furniture, so I rubbed this all over,  but any kind of Top Coat Sealer like these work well.

So simple, so lovely.

I’ve already showed my nieces and determined that they can pick their wedding colors now because I will be painting a T”ON of these for their receptions. 🙂

With such a long and dreary winter, I do believe I will be painting some with beautiful spring pastels to use throughout the house. These are smaller mason jars, so I am off to find some of my quart size up in the attic. I’ll mix and match the sizes with some spring blooms I hope will be bursting forth soon.

Won’t they be perfect for a tablescape?

Even our kitty knows a good thing when she sees it?

Have you painted anything made out of glass? What’s on your DIY or crafting “want to learn” list for this year?