EASTER MASON JARS

Here is a pretty cute project that I got the idea for off of Pinterest.

A painted, two toned Mason jar in pastel colors for Easter.

The above is a robins egg blueish color and here is a different pic of it and another one up close:

I mixed up a sage green color on the other to match my bathroom.

 

This is really an easy project, so let's get started.

I started out with these plain, wide mouth Mason jars.

You will need:

-Mason Jar of any size you want

-Alcohol (to clean the outside of jar)

-Sponge brush

-2 paint colors for each jar (inside and out)

-Decorations of your choice for jar 

-Light grit sand paper

Okay, so first off we need to clean the outside of the jar with a bit of alcohol.  This removes all dust, lint and crap so it will have a good finish.

I just wiped it down with a paper towel and a dash of alcohol.

Okay, next you need to pick a color you want for the inside.
Remember to pick a color that will contrast with your outside color.

This allows the color to pop through once you sand off a bit of the top colors.

I choose an off white, antique color.

Go ahead and paint the inside.  It doesn't have to be great, just good enough to get a coat on.

Here it is with just the inside painted off white. I really like this how it is. So later on, I may make some and leave them like this.

Then we are on to the outside already.

Just paint on, in long strokes, a pretty good layer of paint.

This is coat #1.

We need to do another coat right after this dries.

Here's the blue first coat:

and here's the sage green first coat:

Okay, now here they are after the second coat was applied and dried.

We are ready to sand!

Grab your lightweight sandpaper and start off easy.  

I like to start with the lettering.

I love to see them stand out.

And then to the edges to make it look like it has some wear on it.

Above is the blueish one.

And here is my sage green one:

I about rubbed it a bit too much. So go easy on it, you can always take off more but it'd be hard to fill it back in at this point.

Here they are again after some sanding:

I love the blueish one so much better than the green.

Okay, now, if you think there will be a chance of scratches and such, now you can apply a

flat/matte finish coat. One coat is enough.

Be sure to get the matte finish though, because you don't want them to turn out shiny.

With this project, I think the flat colored pastels make this a plus!

Now time to start decorating.

No need to run out and buy something I may use (unless you really love it!) Remember to always look around your home for things first.  I love to re-purpose about anything!

 

And first and foremost, I got out my plain, plastic spoons. Yes, these are plastic. I have tons of wooden ones, but to give away or sell, I prefer to use plastic.  And of course, to keep the wooden ones!

I just painted these plastic spoons with one one coat of blue, left over from the jar.  And then streaked on a touch of the offwhite that I used in the inside.

 Above, I used some cut pieces of grapevine garland that I had strung on my primitive tree.

I just cut it, and scrunched it in a circle and tacked it in place with hot glue, high temp.

And next, I added a plastic egg that I also painted in almost the same color. I just flicked on a few splashes of white and darker blue to make it look like a bird egg kinda.

And if you look close in the styrofoam plate, I have some cut off pieces of pip berry. I had cut these from one of those long strands you always see in the primitive stores. I have those all around the house in my cabinets.  I am using the white for the blue jar and yellow for the green jar.

 And I also tied a bit of bakers twine around the top to attach a gift tag with.

Okay, now lets take a look at some of the green one. I don't want to leave it out just because I don't like it as much.

 Again, I painted the plastic spoons with the same green and then streaked on some off white.

 Added a plastic egg I painted and speckled, some grapevine garland for a nest and some cut pieces of pip berry.

Tack them all with hot glue!

 And for this one as a tag, I found a cute fake seed pack sign.  It was one out of a pack of note pads I had from the Dollar Mart.

This one says, "Bloom where you are planted."  I love it.

 I tied it on with some yellow and white bakers twine.

Here they are side by side.

BLUE vs. GREEN

Which color do you like best?

I hope ya'll give this Mason jar craft a try.  It was really easy and will make a cute Easter or spring gift!

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa

DIY: Vintage Hymnal Easter Eggs

Here is a super fun and easy way to make some primitive themed Easter eggs out of old, vintage hymn papers.

I like to fill up my old crocks sitting around with these, year round, but especially as Easter approaches.

All you need is:

-Plastic eggs (easy to find those Easter eggs in many stores right now by the bags)

-Elmers Glue

-Hymn Papers (Original or find some online free to print!)

 -Paintbrush (to mix the glue and water up)

-bowl of water

That's it! Now here comes the fun and the mess.

My plastic eggs before:

My plastic eggs after:

1. All you need to basically do is to take your Elmers glue  and mix it with water. Kind of making your own Mod Podge so to say. Not too thick and not too thin. I guess I do about half and half. 

2. Then tear up your hymn papers into small section strips. You could cut them like I first did for the pic, but I think the torn edges look best. And that's what I ended up doing afterwards.

3. Then drop them into the bowl of water/Elmers glue mixture and let them sit a minute or so. To get easier to work with.

4. Then just apply the strips, one by one to the egg. 

Pic below still shows my cut strips, but I love the torn look best!

It will take a few eggs to get the real hang of it, but once you do it goes by much faster.

I end up cupping my hand and squeezing out the watery/glue mix to make the edges lay flatter.

Cover it entirely.

Just kind of stick them right on, all over the egg.

Don't worry about the little crevasses and raised wrinkles. 

It just adds to the Prim look.

HINT: I prop mine up in pop lids, the metal ones to hold while they dry.

They work great!

Then just sit it over on the wax paper to dry. 

And wa~la. You are done.

I hope you find it fun to give this a try.  It really is a cool way to transform those unwanted, leftover Easter eggs everyone usually has sitting around also.  And a great way to display them year round!

Adding these to a wreath would also be a great Easter craft idea as well!

Happy Crafting!

You may also be interested in my other similar crafts:

Vintage Hymnal Paper Cone Cross Wreath WITH STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

 

 

RED and WHITE Speckled COUNTRY EGGS

 

Primitive Easter Eggs

 

 

PRIMITIVE "COUNTRY THEMED" EGGS.

RED and WHITE Speckled COUNTRY EGGS

Today I thought I'd share how I make my Red and White Speckled "Graniteware/ Enamelware" Looking Country Eggs. I do both the white based with red specks and also the red base with white specks. I love them both!

I was thinking that some people may want to make these for display with Easter right around the corner. But as for me, I keep mine out all year long. They look awesome with the red and white speckled "graniteware/enamelware" themed other items I have in the kitchen also.

First, I start off with some basic, crafting plastic eggs. You can find these at Michaels or sometimes you get lucky and run across a bag of them at the Dollar Mart! These are not the type that you can pull apart, they are full eggs, in one piece. They are plastic and hollow inside.

I was lucky enough to find these in huge bags of 40 for only $1.19 at the Dollar Mart last year. My buggy and arms were full! And please note that I did buy them all except for one bag. Which I left in case someone really needed them. lol. Some of mine in the tote are dented due to being stored at the bottom of a huge stack in the garage. lol. But I am still going to use them.

The next step is to simply spray paint them with a base coat. I use the $3.00 red from the Dollar Store and the $1.50 white. The little bit higher red tends to cover better than the dollar kind. Do not try to paint them on something like a plastic bag. They will stick and get lines....I tried.

The best thing I found to paint them in was a cardboard box lid. The gift box type. Once painted they can even roll around and it will not mess up the paint too much. I do a box full of both white and red as the base.

Then let them dry a bit, roll them around and spray the other sides. Then just let it all dry again.

Now comes the toughest part....but don't worry, it's still not hard. It's the time to add the "speckled look." And getting it just right is not necessary. But here's a trick. Practice over something like an empty box until you get the hang of it. I just barely.....and I mean BARELY press down on the spray button on the spray paint to just make it kind of "spit" the paint out in little specks. And I hold it over top the eggs. Probably about 2 foot or so above. That way you will get the little dripping effects.

You can see some of the big drips that also fell in the box. It hit a few eggs to, but even they still looked kinda cool in the end.

I forgot to take a pic of the red based ones with white specks, but they are just the same as above, but vice versa colors.

And here's how I package them up to sell them in my Peddlers Mall Booth #555:

I put them in these clear bags and just add a label and sometimes a string of homespun to make them look super country. I do sets of 2 for only $1.59 or sets of 4 for $2.79. The sets of 2 go faster than the sets of four, I am guessing because of the $1.59 price. And that people may add them to their own groups of eggs they already have.

Here's a few more pics of them packaged and ready to go:

And here's how I display some in my own kitchen. They are all nestled inside of a wire chicken frame that I found at a yard sale for only $2.00.

I need to go back and add a touch of that fake nesting grass under the eggs. Ah, I'll get to it one day.

Well, I hope this gives you some ideas on what to do with those plastic craft eggs you may have laying around. I'm pretty sure this will also work on those left over Easter eggs as well. They'd just have the seam in the middle is all.


MORE IDEAS:
And if you are looking for a more primitive, country theme to do on plastic eggs, check out my recent post here: PRIMITIVE "COUNTRY THEMED" EGGS.

 

http://www.booth555.com/2012/08/primitive-bowl-fillers-country-eggs.html

Primitive COUNTRY Easter Eggs

Here's some country eggs I made that would be great to display at Easter or anytime throughout the year.

They started out as plain ole' plastic crafting eggs.  I order them in huge bags like this.

Here they are out of the bag:

They are just plain, lightweight, plastic eggs. They do not come apart like Easter eggs do.  But if you have them on hand, I'm sure they will work fine too.

These take a little more time than I thought they would, but in the end they are so worth it. 

You basically have to handle each one, and paint them, one side at a time.

Some I used the crackle effect with Elmers glue to give them a different look. So that was extra messy.

Some I wrapped in twine or fabric and hot glued buttons on them.

They look awesome in an old bowl or crock, displayed in a kitchen or dinning room also.

Some are hand painted by me, then dipped in a smell good, waxy country mixture of cinnamon and the others are fabric wrapped (which takes a bit of time.)

These have became a  best seller in my Booth #555. Since I first posted this article, I have had to increase their price slightly from $1.49 to $2.49. I figured after the time I spent one on one with each egg it was worth it. lol. Still a bargain, I think. 

Update: 

Please check out my  Primitive Grungy Easter Egg Theme

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa