Spray Painted Glass Jars and Bottles
I have a real problem throwing away perfectly good glass jars and bottles. To me they are little craft gems waiting for me to transform them. With Mother’s Day and Teacher Appreciation coming up, I decided to turn some of our recycled bottles into cute gifts for Mom and my sons’ teachers.
Before you begin this project, I want to warn you to be flexible. The painting step has the potential to get messed up, but that doesn’t mean the project has to be a failure. I’ll show you how I fixed one of the bottles that didn’t turn out as I had planned.
Materials:
- Glass Bottles or Jars
- Spray Paint
- Rubber Gloves
- Plastic Bags
- Masking or Painter’s Tape
- Drop Cloth, Tarp or Plastic
- Foam Stickers
- X-acto Knife
- Pencil
- Embellishments: beads, transfer rub-ons, wire, fabric, ribbon, raffia, lace, or whatever you have lying around
- Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Instructions:
Clean out the bottles/jars and let them dry completely. Save the lids if you want to cap off them off.
Select some foam stickers to use as a mask on your bottle.
I chose a heart and then cut an “M” into a circle foam sticker using an X-acto knife. (Remember to cut your letters in reverse.)
If the bottle neck is narrow, use the X-acto knife to feed the sticker into the jar.
Then use a pencil or stick to firmly press the sticker to the inside of the jar.
Wrap your bottle in a plastic bag and then tape the bag to the neck of the jar/bottle.
Set the bottles in a tarped area or box.
Put on some rubber gloves and insert the spray paint nozzle into the jar. Spray a layer of paint into the jar.
Wait a few minutes and repeat. The paint will be liquid, so rotate the bottles and jars to spread the paint around. Then turn the jars upside down to dry.
After the paint has dried (several hours), gently remove the foam sticker with the X-acto knife.
If a little paint has dripped into your masked area, you might be able to scrape it off with the X-acto. One of the stickers (jar shown on the right side below) didn’t adhere, and the paint bled underneath the sticker. But, no worries, it can easily been fixed.
Time to get out your embellishment scraps. Ribbons, lace, rub on decals, beads, etc. Anything goes!
To fix the drippy paint jar, I rubbed on a few decals to cover the messed up heart mask.
I added some wire and beads to the collar. And presto, a cute pencil holder!
Use a hot glue gun to glue beaded string on your bottles. I added the trim around the collar and around the heart shape on this bottle. Then, I added another rub on decal.
And, voila, a beautiful flower vase!
To create a cute bottle top, try gluing batting, fabric, lace and a ribbon to the lid.
Wrap up a small present inside some tissue paper and inserted it the bottle. Or write a little heart felt note and slip it inside.
I included a battery powered tea light, it made a beautiful votive gift. The jars are so beautiful when lit up, don’t you think?
You can also try spraying the exterior of a few bottles. They don’t have the same shiny luminous look, but they will still be beautiful none-the-less.
Do tell me, what other ideas do you have using these glass jars and bottles? I’d love to hear!
Take a look at some other attractive ways to reuse recycled bottles and jars?
Those came out sooo pretty! The decals are such a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing, I’ll be linking.
So cute, I LOVE it! Check out my blog at http://www.laundrywillwait.blogspot.com/
~Jen
Good Morning Brittney. These turned out as cute as can be. I’m lovin’ the color.
Please stop by my blog and check out this post when you have a chance,
http://cottonpickincute.blogspot.com/2011/05/did-you-know-that-im-versatile.html
Thanks, Hugs…Tracy 🙂
What a brilliant idea, Brittany – so simple and pretty (of course the fact that it’s in my favorite color in the world – blue – helps a lot, too! 🙂
I’ve seen bottles and jars painted before, but never embellished and dressed up like you have done – makes a big difference. I definitely want to try making a pencil holder for my desk now.
I have been saving those cute Starbucks Frap bottles for a while now. . .
This is one of my favorite things you have done!
Brittany, I love your idea! I already use canning jars for decorating. Now I’ll be painting them and adding decals and beads. Thanks for the idea.
Amazing, they look beautiful! I think the two where you added the trim to the collar and the eyelet to the top would be especially wonderful gifts. You are certainly talented and creative!
Best,
Gloria
Hey sweetie, do you mind sharing what color spray paint you used?
No problem. I used Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze!
I appreciate that in the beginning you stress that it doesn’t have to be perfect. As a crafter and blogger I always cringe at attempting projects that seem a little too perfect. We all know too well that just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it isn’t pretty 🙂
Love the colors!
Holly,
So true! My mom always taught us to be creative and find a solution if you messed something up.
These are so cute!!!! Great idea! I love the heart one!
They came out so pretty! Is that rubbed-on decals on the last bottle?
Yanet,
Yes, I used the Stampin’ Up rub on decals. I love how they turned out!
These are so, so cute!! What a fabulous idea.
So pretty! I love the blue. I love finding creative repurposing ideas.
Great Ideas! There are so many bottles that we use everyday and then throw away (recycle actually). What creative ways to reuse them! I’ve actually been keeping my tomatoe sauce jars to do something similar.
~Jenna, SAS Interiors