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When I was a kid mason jars were for one thing – canning. My mom had a huge garden and come August and September our kitchen was full of steam and good smells. At some point between then and now mason jars have taken on a whole new purpose. Now they’ve become a decor staple in farmhouse decorating. You can use them for just about anything your little heart desires. Of course, you can buy them painted and antiqued but where’s the fun in that? And it’s a lot cheaper to make them yourself and I’m always down with that.
You can buy mason jars at Target or Walmart. It’s around $8 or $9 for 12. The most common sizes are pint and quart but they also have other sizes and variations too. I’ve used spray paint and regular acrylic craft paint on them. If you’re looking for a smooth, even finish I’d suggest using spray paint. The project I’m sharing today has the aged and antiqued look so I went with craft paint.
I’m using the wide-mouth pint-size jars. No particular reason; it’s just what I grabbed.
I’ve been obsessed with aqua lately. I wanted to paint this jar aqua too but all the paint I had was too bright. I needed to add some white to my aqua to lighten it up a bit. These cute little paint mixing pots are really handy if you need to combine paint colors. They have lids too so you can store your mixture and it won’t dry out. I think I picked these up at Joann for a few bucks.
Once I had my paint mixed up I was ready to paint. There’s no particular technique to this. Paint the jar until it’s thoroughly covered. A cheap brush is probably better for this because it doesn’t need to look too polished.
You’ll probably have to paint multiple coats. It took about 3 coats to get the right coverage.
Let it completely dry. You want it to be really dry before you start sanding or else you’ll have a mess. You could use regular sandpaper for this but I prefer a sanding block. It’s easier to get into those little crannies and ridges. And I also love sanding blocks. If I was putting together a housewarming basket for a new homeowner these would definitely make it in!
Again, there’s no particular technique to sanding the jars. The idea is to make it look like it rubbed off naturally over time. Try to imagine where the wear would occur. Any part that’s lettering or a picture would be worn because it’s slightly raised. Where the lid screws to the top of the jar is another spot. Other than that, just use your imagination. Don’t go overboard. Sand too much off and you’ll be repainting. ?
And that’s it! Leave the lid off or put it on and set it on a shelf. I was looking for a cute vase to put flowers in for my fall decorating. Not that I don’t have a few to choose from already but one more can’t hurt!
See how easy it is to make these? I’m always on the lookout for projects that Aislynn and I can do together. The holidays are fast approaching and I think these would make a perfect addition to my Christmas decorations. We made a bunch of homemade of ornaments last year and had so much fun. We’ll need another project for this year and this just might be a contender.
I’ve already started pinning for the holidays! Follow on Pinterest to see what I’ve found. Alex said I had to wait at least until after Halloween to even talk to her about. It’s now November so it’s GAME ON.
