My mum’s a gem. And perfectly practical in every way. She doesn’t see the need for expensive luxuries or unnecessary trinkets, which is a wonderful thing, but makes it very hard to buy for her come Mother’s Day!
She does, however, like nice things to eat (who doesn’t?), and so I thought I’d put together some painted jars that I could fill with sweets to give to her next Sunday.
If you’d like to make some of your own, follow along below…
Materials
- Black and white glass paint
- Black spray paint
- Milk bottles or glass jars with lids (I got mine here)
- Arrow template (see the end of this post to download)
- Candy/chocolate
Step 1
Download and print out the arrow template (at the end of this post), trim the paper around the arrows and insert it inside one of your jars.
Step 2
Using the arrow template as a guide, paint or draw your arrows in black paint. I used a glass paint pen rather than a brush as I found this more accurate and easier to control. Once your arrows are done, leave the jars to dry.
Step 3
Grab your white paint and pour it into the inside of the jars, moving each jar around so that the paint covers all of the inside. Tip any excess paint back into the container and then leave the jars to dry (this part takes awhile!).
Step 4
Get your can of spray paint and spray the jar lids until they’re evenly covered.
Step 5
To set the glass paint on your jars, follow the manufacturer’s instructions (this generally includes allowing the paint to dry for 24 hours before firing the jars in an oven).
There’s more than one way to… paint a jar?
Yep, there is! I used glass paints in this tutorial because I wanted the paint on my jars to be able to handle washing if needed. But you can easily do this project with spray paint or acrylic paint instead.
In fact, the end result might be better if you’re using spray paint as it leaves a nice, even finish. Just keep in mind that different types of paint may be less permanent. Also, it’s probably a good idea to put only wrapped candy inside the jar if you don’t know whether the paint you’re using is food safe.
I should maybe ‘fess up to some of the stuff that didn’t go to plan – like that this project got messy and I had paint everywhere! Oh, and it took me three goes to get this right as I figured out (the hard way) that glass paint and painter’s tape don’t work so well together. You live and learn right?
Despite all the do-overs though, the end result turned out pretty decent. What do you think?
Painted candy jar arrow template
xx Steph