December 02, 2020

Holiday Mason Jars - Four Ways!

Most crafters I know have an inexplicable number of glass jars and containers. Every time I walk into a thrift store or see a yard sale, every glass piece calls my name and I must own it! Not to mention the dollar store and their wonderful glass cylinder vases!

That said, I wanted to find a way to upcycle a few of my mason jars and vases this holiday season and I found two things that will bring them to the next level - Krylon Stained spray paint and epsom salt. Here we go!

What You’ll Need:

You can use as many of these items or as few as you would like based on the look you are going for. To make all three, here is what you will need:

  • Mason jar or glass container
  • Krylon Stained glass spray paint
  • Mod podge
  • Foam brush
  • Epsom salt
  • Greenery
  • Sola wood flowers from Oh You're Lovely
  • Twine or string

Spray Paint the Jars!

Glass jars can be finicky to spray paint so to prep them, make sure the jar is clean and wipe down with rubbing alcohol. Once dry, apply a thin layer of the Krylon Stained spray paint. You can continue to apply thin layers until the jar has reached the color you desire. Just be sure to let each layer dry before the next!

Once the jars are fully dry, you can simply pop in some filler and a wood flower and you are done!

Or...you can keep going and try these other techniques!

Apply Mod Podge!

To bring your jar to the next level of holiday-ness (new word? lol), let's add some "snow!"

First, add a decent amount of mod podge to the area you would like covered. You'll need to move pretty quickly because you don't want it to dry before adding the epsom salt! Try to keep this mod podge layer as even as possible.

Add Epsom Salt!

Next, we will add the epsom salt! I like using epsom vs table salt because the pieces are chunkier and give me more of a snow vibe.

I recommend putting a bowl or tray underneath the area where you will be pouring the salt on to help with clean up and also so you can reuse whatever doesn't stick to the jar!

You may not get the coverage you want with just one application of the mod podge and epsom salt. I didn't wait until the mod podge had completely dried which is why it looks a little splotchy. If you want to add more salt, wait until the mod podge is completely dry on the first layer and repeat the mod podge/pour salt steps again!

Add Greenery and Flowers!

For version one of this epsom salt jar, I wanted to see what I could create in under 5 minutes. We had a really cute pine/pinecone/berry filler bundle so I popped that into the jar first. Then I stemmed up 5 of our mini artichoke flowers and added those in. 5 minutes and I have an adorable holiday piece!

Make a Hanging Bundle!

For the next version with the same epsom salt jar, I wanted to be a bit extra extra! I took out the mini artichoke flowers but kept the holiday filler bundle inside the jar. To that, I added a few stems of bleached eucalyptus, preserved cedar, dried globe amaranth and baby's breath.

I then took a few small pieces of the fillers and created a small bundle of them. I used string to tie them together and tie that onto the mouth of the jar. Once that was attached, I took one of the arties (after it had been painted champagne gold) and glued it directly to the filler bundle.

I love how it looks and thanks to the preserved cedar, it smells just like the winter holidays!

Dye Your Epsom Salt!

This would be a really fun project with the kiddos and is a great way to change up the epsom salt for different looks with the same product!

Put some of the epsom salt in a container (preferably one with a tight lid) and add a few drops of food coloring*. Snap the lid on and shake, shake, shake until the color is evenly distributed!

*Any food coloring will work whether it be the drops or the gel kind! You can also add in some glitter during this step for some sparkle.

Add Filler!

To apply to your glass container, just follow the same mod podge/pour salt steps above! I added a fun, glittery filler bundle to this one after the mod podge had dried.

And there you have it! Four inexpensive and easy ways to spruce up your mason jars and glass containers for the holiday season.