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Upcycling Glass Food Jars for Storage or Decor

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Do you have a lot of leftover food jars at the end of the week? We sure do! Salsa jars, spaghetti sauce jars, pickles jars, etc. Here is an idea for upcycling glass food jars so you can reuse them instead of toss them into a landfill for a million years. 😉


Supplies needed for this diy:

Step one: Clean your jar

The first thing you want to do is clean your jar. If you need tips on how to remove the gummy label, I have a step-by-step tutorial HERE for how to do that; chemical free!

empty salsa jar

Step two: Paint your jar

Next, let’s paint our jar! I like to use chalk paint for painting on glass because it covers so well!

You will need at least two coats of the chalk paint however. Here is our jar after the first coat.

Make sure you dry each coat in between. If you don’t and you try to paint too soon, the second coat will drag the first coat and you’ll end up with uneven coats.

Another tip is to make sure your first coat is cooled before you add the second coat. If you are just allowing it to dry between coats, just make sure that you see a matte finish with no shine before adding your second coat.

Apply your second coat.

While you’re letting that second coat of paint dry, cut your napkin to fit your jar.

Step three: Add the napkin to your jar using mod podge

I’m only going to be adding my napkin to the recessed middle of the jar. Once you have your napkin cut to the correct measurements, start to add mod podge to the jar a little at a time.

Start adding your napkin on top of your mod podge.

I like to use a brush to press the napkin down into the mod podge. Just gently tap the napkin with the brush.

Fold your napkin back and continue adding mod podge in small sections.

Then just bring your napkin back over and repeat these steps until the napkin is all the way around the jar.

Once you have your napkin all the way around, you can just eyeball and cut your napkin if there will be any overlap. I do let it overlap just a bit but not too much, maybe 1/4 inch.

It won’t be perfect, because you working with wet tissue, so there will be wrinkles. I think that adds to the charm though. You could try the iron on method, but I’ve honestly never tried it on glass.

Step four: Seal your jar

The last thing you need to do is seal your paint because it is chalk paint and with it being painted on glass, it will chip if you don’t seal it. I just use mod podge for this, too.

You want to let your decoupaged napkin completely dry underneath before sealing that section. If you don’t and you immediately try to add more mod podge, it will make the wrinkles worse.

But here is what it will look like once you have sealed the whole jar.

Check it out! How pretty this turned out! You can use this as a storage jar for paint brushes or pens/pencils, or even for makeup brushes on a vanity! If you’re thinking you’d like this more for decorating purposes, use this as a vase!

Upcycling Glass Food Jars would also make great Mother’s Day diy gifts!

I hope that you enjoyed learning about upcycling glass food jars and that it inspires you to make something similar for your home! Leave us a comment and let us know if you have made this, might make it or if you have questions! We love to hear from our readers! I would love for you to join our email family, too so we can share ideas and keep up with each other every week! Thank you for visiting our blog! God bless friends and happy creating!


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Need help cleaning your jars?? We have all the details for that, also!

how to remove labels from jars using lemon essential oil

More recycled glass ideas:

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