I searched and searched for an easy way to paint Mason jars for projects. But all of the tutorials said to paint the inside (uses too much paint) or prime it first. Since I’m all about ease, I gave up.

Enter: Wal-Mart craft section.

I have been eyeing these paints for a while and I finally decided to scoop them up when I became the owner of a bunch of glass jars from Freecycle (it’s an email group where you send out things you want or things you want to get rid of and people respond and you pick them up or drop them off to their new owners. And the best part? It’s all free!) and we’re moving so I get a craft room! So I bought some and went to work.

I went with these 2 colors (maize and peacock) because it is the color scheme I want to use for my craft room. Basically because it matches my logo. But I thought the colors were beautiful – especially together. I will use them again in my craft room.

This stuff is THICK and is only $6. I thought that was pretty cheap for a paint that is saving me money by not having to prime anything before painting.

Here is the necessary supply list:

*Waverly chalk paint
*Glass jars of your choosing
*Sponge brushes
*Rubbing alcohol
*Paper towels or cotton balls
*Wax paper (or painting surface – I use wax paper all the time)

 Here is the optional supply list:

*Glue
*Hemp string or ribbon (this is if you want to cover up the rims which I did because the paint didn’t really stick to the rim – probably because after I cleaned the jar with the rubbing alcohol I touched it with my fingers)
*Anything else you want to use to jazz up your jars – flowers, rhinestones, buttons, whatever
*Nail file – not pictured (if you want to sand down the paint to make it “distressed” looking – I did not.)
*Acrylic sealant spray (I love this stuff. I feel like I cover everything in it after I’m done.)
*Scissors

(BLOGGER SECRET! The original pic I took of all my supplies was missing a lot because I decided at the last minute to spray them and add the hemp. So I had to take another one after. So these aren’t even the jars I used. Sneaky, I know. I am a rebel.)

Rub your jars down with rubbing alcohol. DO NOT TOUCH THEM WITH YOUR FINGERS after you have cleaned them. Trust me. I had some paint not stick to the jars and I was so confused as to why, but after doing some research, it was probably because I touched them after so the oils from my hand got stuck to the jar. And to think, I was going to take the lazy way out and not clean them with rubbing alcohol. I would’ve had a pretty big blog fail on my hands. (wouldn’t be the first time!)

Rubbing alcohol dries pretty quickly so you’re pretty much ready for the next step – paint! Use a VERY THIN layer of paint each time. I went up and down. It’s going to take a few layers and some patience but it’s worth it in the end. Hold the top of the jar with a paper towel over your hands or stick your hand in the jar to hold it up while you paint. The first layer is the easiest.

Let the paint dry for at least 2 hours. When you come back to paint another layer, make sure it is thin again. Or it will peel off the previous layer. And don’t use a lot of brush strokes on each layer. Does that make sense? Ha.

I only did 2 layers on the peacock but 3 on the maize. After the paint was completely dry (I let them dry overnight after the last layer), I sprayed them with 2 layers of acrylic sealant (waiting about 2 hours after the first layer). If you want the rustic chalkboard look, take your nail file and file down where you want the paint rubbed off, then spray them with the sealer. Here they are after the sealer….(in the sun you can really see why I want to cover up the rims with my hemp!)

More waiting – you have to wait for the sealer to dry before handling them because it will feel sticky. Now you can add your embellishments! I chose to just use the hemp because they won’t be on display a lot – just in my craft room on my desk to hold paintbrushes, markers, pens, etc.

When I added the hemp, I started with glue under the top rim, like this:

And then I just fed the hemp around the glue and up the jar. I found it easiest to skip the ridges:

And then when I got to the top, I brought it back down over the ridges that I missed. I found I had to add glue every once in a while, but not all over.

Here is a close up of one of the jars all hemped up…

Again, love this project because you don’t need to be perfect. I ended the hemp with a little glue and then rubbing the hemp down in the glue.

I am absolutely in love with these colors.

I did not realize how many paintbrushes I had until I took them out for the picture. Yikes. No more paintbrushes!

I also just had some super cute wall art printed out in these colors that I designed. I am so excited to get it all hung up in my new craft room!

Happy crafting!

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