Monday, April 23, 2012

Pretty Painted Jars


After seeing these painted jars on Pinterest, I got so excited.  We have several empty glass jars saved in our garage for when my son goes to college in the fall.  We are big reusers/recyclers here and he wanted them for drinking glasses in his first apartment.  
I also have quite a few paint samples lying around and so this was the perfect easy weekend diy.


How I did it:
You will need clean, dry glass jars 
Paint (I used No-Voc latex satin paint.  You can buy samples for $4 at Lowes)
cardboard or something similar to dry the jars on

Pour a generous amount of paint into the jar.
Swirl it around slowly to evenly coat the jar.
Pour excess back into paint container (this can take a while).
Set the containers upside-down on cardboard and let excess drip out (otherwise, you will have permanent drip marks).
Move containers every 15 minutes or so, so they wont stick to the cardboard.
After about 2-3 hours, you can turn them over and let them air dry.

Wait at least 24 hours before you fill them with water and flowers.

Edit: put a paper cup filled with water into the jar to prevent the paint from coming off (which it will do when exposed to water).  Thank you, Gretchen for this brilliant suggestion!






16 comments:

Jennifer Squires Ross said...

I've seen this done with glass ornaments before but never jars. It certainly highlights the simple, beautiful shapes!

Elle Moss said...

Thank you both so much!

Catalina said...

great aidea! and lovely picture

barefoot duchess said...

That's amazing! I am definitely going to try this =)

Anonymous said...

won't water in the jar for the flowers make the paint come off?

gretchen e. said...

If you're worried about the paint separating from the glass due to water (valid concern), a simple solution would be to put the flowers in a smaller cup (e.g. paper cup) before setting it inside of the glass jar. That way water doesn't get on the paint. Just a thought.

Erica Bracken said...

What a great idea! Too cute!

nicole said...

or, just paint the outside! i mixed modge podge w/ food coloring and painted the outside. i have to be careful when touching w/ wet hands, but they can be used to store food since there are no chemicals inside the jar.

Anonymous said...

how did you do the outside of the jar

Elle Moss said...

Hello,

I did nothing to the outside. It is plain glass and the paint shines through!

Kathy said...

What a pretty palette this makes!

Lisa said...

These are SO pretty!

Anonymous said...

The colors you used are gorgeous. Can you tell me what the color names are? Thanks so much for sharing this craft.

Anonymous said...

If you are trying to get the residue that's left from sticky labels off the jars then eucalyptus oil works a treat.

Monica

Richard C. Lambert said...

Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and new initiatives in the same niche. Blog gave us useful information to work. You have done an amazing job! cupom de desconto

Anonymous said...

Thank.you :-)