Hello everybody and Happy Easter!!
A couple of weeks ago, I started working on doing up some old jam jars to fill with spring flowers for the wedding. However, I think they are also perfect for Springtime celebrations - especially Easter Sunday. So instead of showing you how to work on an egg-themed project, I will be talking you through the process of how I made these simple 'vases'. They will look lovely on an Easter buffet table filled with daffodils.
Knowing that I wanted to use them for the wedding, I have spent the last year collecting jars of various shapes and sizes (with the help of my Mum and dear ol' Nan). For this project I had a rummage through them all and picked out my favourites ready for up-cycling. Once the jars were washed, I set up a 'station' outside ready to get working. I wanted to incorporate the colours of the wedding into the decoration of the jars, and so I decided to spray paint them. I only sprayed each jar approximately a third of the way up to add a bit of colour. I felt that doing the whole jar would compete with the colours of the flowers. Spray paint works better than brush painting as it gives a smoother finish. To do this, I bought three small cans of PlastiKote Fast Dry Project Enamel spray paint from Wilkinsons for £3.45 each. They are supplied at various other stores as well - see for yourself on the PlastiKote Website.
To achieve a clean line when spray painting, I used masking tape. Using a ruler and a CD marker, I marked about a third of the way up each jar all the way around. I then followed these marks with the masking tape to ensure I would get a clean, straight finish. I then worked my way up the rest of the jar with masking tape so that no other part of the jar would get marked with spray paint.
Then the fun began!
Now for health and safety reasons, (which our wonderful country seem oh so fond of nowadays!) I would advise you do this in an open space (preferably outside) and even wear a dust mask. Start spraying the paint directly onto the glass jar - making sure you get an even coat all the way round. Another reason for doing this outside is because the paint gets EVERYWHERE! I came in dusted with paint in my hair, on my clothes, on my face, on my camera.... Once I finished spray painting each jar, I put them on a separate newspaper-covered table to dry. I repeated this method until all of them were done. The paint takes a few hours to fully dry.
Once dry, I carefully peeled off the masking tape.
And there we have it! Pretty, colourful jars ready for displaying seasonal flowers. Have a go at creating some fun floral jars for your next spring event. Its cheap, cheerful and so simple to do (and who doesn't like that?). I would love to see your take on it.
For the actual wedding, I would like to add some ribbon or lace as well. When they are all set up on the day, I will make sure to take some photos to share!
I hope you enjoyed. Have a wonderful Easter and as always, keep watching this space!
Zo..x
