A Rainy Day Project...Pretty-n-Prim Decorated Mason Jars

Rain,  Rain Go Away!  Your putting everyone in a bad mood today! 

It is so rainy here in our small town of Dunnville,  Kentucky today.  I got up first thing this morning preparing for a long day of basketball games with my youngest son.  What was the first thing I heard?  Raindrops pounding away at my metal rooftop.  It was at that moment that I knew this was going to be a challenging day.  Dragging 3 children,  all under the age of 11 out into the rain to go somewhere,  is not my idea of fun.  And as an added bonus,  the hubby woke up sick this morning.  And let's just say,  he is a very grumpy person when he is feeling bad.  But we will manage somehow,  and make the best of this dreary day.  And as someone once said,  "Today is a gift from God,  remember to thank him". 

I've rambled on enough about the weather and everything else.  So now it's time to brighten everyones day,  and talk about what we all love...PRIMS.  Every day I try to spend at least a little bit of my time working on something primitive,  or taking something not-so-prim and making it primitive in my own way.  The possibilities are endless when working with a great imagination and all those old unused mason jars that are sitting in the attic or the cellar,  collecting dust and what not.  So get busy gathering your jars,  and together we will transform them into something pretty-n-prim for you to display in your home.

Materials Needed:

   Glass Mason Jar(Any size will do,  as a matter of fact,  any kind of glass jar will do also)  

   Primer Paint

   Mod Podge

   Acrylic Paints (several colors of your choice,  I use Apple Barrel or Folk-Art paints from Wal-Mart).

    Homespun (to match your paint colors)

First of all,  you need to thoroughly wash the jars with hot soapy water and let them air dry.  Do not try to dry quickly with a towel,  it may leave lint or other debris on the jar.  Trust me,  I know from experience. 

Now it's time to primer your jar with the primer paint.  I use spray paint primer for my jars,  but you can also use brush on primer too.  I just made sure to be really careful when spraying the jar,  that I didn't get too close or too much at one time and cause runs or splatters in the paint.  And if you do happen to use the spray kind,  you can always keep an old rag lying nearby to quickly blotch up any runs.  Paint the entire jar from top to bottom,  you can wait for the top and sides to dry and then you can paint the very bottom base part of the jar.  If you like,  you can do a second layer of the primer.  But,  one coat will also work.  The primer process is used to help the next set of paints to adhere to the jar better.  Let dry about an hour.  Drying time will vary,  depending on the amount of paint you place on the jar.

We will be painting the jar again,  but this time paint the entire jar in the paint color of your choice.  You may have to do a couple of coats,  depending on the color of primer you used.  When you are finished with this,  you need to let it dry a couple of hours.  Once again,  drying times could vary.

Now comes the fun part,  decorating the jar to our likings.  I use a pencil to draw out the design onto my jar,  and every now and then I will use stencils.  You can do whichever you prefer.  Now you need to take the other paint color choices and paint your design onto the jar.  You can now paint the lid a color of your choice to match.  You can also cover the lid completely with homespun,  then place the lid onto the jar.  Cover the entire jar with mod podge using a small paint brush,  to help protect the paint from getting scratched off.  I'm not saying it will definitely not get scratched up,  because anything is possible.  But it will help protect it a bit.  Tie off the neck of the jar with a piece of homespun,  and ta-da.  You turned a plain old jar into something pretty-n-prim,  that you can now display in your home. 

NOTE: If your jar does not include a lid,  you can cut and cover the top of the jar with homespun and jute.  This looks really cute also.  Or you can leave the top off completely,  and place a votive cup into the opening.

Here is a picture of the jar I created.  It was an old original mason canning jar.  I use my jar to display on a shelf just as it is.  I have one of these for sell @ $5.00 plus S&H.

Thanks for stopping by today,  I hope you liked the jars.  Goodnight everyone and God Bless!