Glass jars turned vintage

Lately I've been intrigued by those lovely vintage blue glass jars you see on the tables of chic outdoor weddings. I did a little bit of research on these, to see how economical they were in bulk, and found that they can range anywhere from $5-$15 per jar, depending on how rare they are. I was a bit surprised by this, and thought there had to be a better way to achieve the same look, so I went in search of a way to "dye" a regular quart sized jar, to mimic the look of the old Ball Perfect Mason Jars.

Here's my photo recap:

I used a product called Vitrea 160, which is a transparent color for glass, in a shade called turquoise. I also purchased some thinner from the same product line, so I could get a really faint look. After scooping out a small amount of the turquoise color (a dot about the size of the nail on my pinky finger) into a plastic tupperware container, I dipped my fan brush into the thinner bottle and then mixed that into the blue. That's really all you need, and after I was finished, I realized I could have colored 5 more jars with the amount of turquoise I had left.

I flipped my jar upside down and placed it into another plastic tupperware container, then brushed the outside of the jar with the mixture in thin, even strokes from top to bottom. It looks a bit bright and cloudy at this point, but bear with me! You then have to let it set for 24 hours before you bake it in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F. After it bakes and cools, the majority of your brushstrokes should disappear, so don't worry if it isn't perfect! Once you fill the jar with water and flowers any small brushstrokes that may still be present will fade even more.

The best part of this project (besides the fact that it's super easy) is that it's cheap. The two bottles of Vitrea 160 were $8.00 total, and the glass jar was free (leftover container from MIL). If you didn't have any relatives who could give you 12 or more glass quart jars, you could easily buy them from any grocery store or craft store, or look on craigslist. Here are a few links: Walmart (12 for $17.98), Amazon (12 for $7.72). So basically you could do a case of 12 jars for about $1.50, not bad! Throw in a $7.00 supermarket bouquet and you're in business!

NOTE: This project is best suited for use with flowers and water, rather than with candles. Any brush strokes that may be left over from baking the jar will be hidden by the water and stems.

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