Allisa Jacobs: Tutorial - Painted Vases, Mason Jars, and Bottles

tutorial painted vases mason jars bottles

Remember last week I was doing flips over the tutorial transformation of an old frame into a beauty of a cork board? Well, at it again over here- I gave these garage sale find vases and old bottles I had been collecting new life with a bit of happy paint.

I love how they turned out so much, I can't stop making these. Seriously, I've raided my mom's old barn and am on the hunt for super cheap vases/jars/bottles! I can see these being a super lovely gift with flowers too.

So, here's my tips & tricks:

boo. a blurry photo.

In any case, started with squeaky clean vases & jars of all sizes and paint suitable for glass. I used Martha Stewart's craft paint which is supposed to work on just about anything. I love the colors but am interested in trying a different brand to see if it coats a little better...

Step 1:

Thin out the paint with a bit of water. I mixed my paint & water in a little tub and this part was a little trial & error. I think I used about 4 parts paint to 1 part water..... this is key: we're looking for a consistency thinner than creamy soup but thicker than hot chocolate (<--autumn must be drawing near!). In any case, you want it to be thin enough to coat the glass, like slowly glazing it, BUT you don't want it so thin that it sort of runs & streaks. This will leave uneven paint, require multiple coats, and look a little, um, crafty.

Trust me, there are about 4 streaky marigold colored mason jars out there feeling a little left out.....

see how it's smoothly coating the inside?

Step 2:

Pour a bit of your thinned paint into the vase then roll and swirl the paint around. It takes a bit of patience (though it's easy!) and just sort of getting the hang of it.

you can see here, my aqua colored vases need a second coat - these were a bit streaky. The end result was lovely, but the insides weren't as pretty as the gray....

Step 3:

After you've coated the insides, be sure to pour out any remaining paint & let dry (check out your paint instructions) - I found that some of my bottles needed another coat.