DIY Upcycled Farmhouse Jar Vases
Last year they stopped recycling glass jars in our area because it was too cost prohibitive for the counties. I am a firm believer in recycling and just can't make myself throw a perfectly good and re-useable glass jar in the trash. Since then my recycling closet has become a bit overcrowded with glass jars and I needed to find a few projects to upcycle them.
The first thing I had to do to upcycle these jars was to remove the label and the sticky residue left behind. The labels were easily removed by soaking the jars in hot water and dish detergent.
This time, the sticky residue became a big problem. After trying all the options that worked for me in the past including acetone (fingernail polish remover), rubbing alcohol, vinegar, and baking soda, I finally had to make a trip to the store for a product called Goof Off.
Goof Off finally worked but it still was a the most tedious part of this project.
To upcycle a few of these jars, I decided to make decorative farmhouse vases out of them. I planned to use a few decorative ribbons, including white denim, and some fabulous new chicken wire ribbon I found several weeks ago at Hobby Lobby.
To add the decorative ribbons to the jars, I used Mod Podge on the glass to one end of the cut ribbon, overlapped the ribbon and used more Mod Podge to secure the edges together. I then put a few pieces of scotch tape over the edge of the ribbon to hold it in place while the Mod Podge dried overnight.
Once the Mod Podge had dried overnight and the decorative ribbon was firmly attached to the outside of the jar, I cut a length of the chicken wire ribbon with wire cutters.
Wrap the chicken wire ribbon around the jar, on top of the decorative ribbon and secure the wire ends together.
The chicken wire ribbon does not need glue to attach it around the jar. You can easily overlap and twist the lose ends of the wires together. These can be sharp so I suggest that you wear gloves for this part but it can be done without them too.
For the rustic white denim ribbon, I overlapped it with the galvanized chicken wire ribbon.
For the more decorative ribbon with gold details, I overlapped it with the gold colored chicken wire ribbon.
To hide the grooves around the rim of each jar, I simply just wrapped a cut length of jute twine several times around the rim and tied it off in a knot.
The last step is to add decorative floral stems or live flowers of your choice and enjoy anywhere in your home.
You can also use the jars as storage and use the original lid with them and not use the jute twine around the rim.
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Rosalie Racine on May 19, 2020
Use skin so soft. Takes the sticky residue off. Works great on pine tar on kids hands. It's a product of Avon.
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Donna Powell on May 20, 2020
Thanks for letting me know. We used that product as a kid for bug repellent too. Love the smell.
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Rynn on May 19, 2020
Very cute idea! It is adaptable to various sized jars/containers which can be used for flowers OR as organizers for your desk OR in your craft area to hold misc notions, beads, and supplies. OR how about to hold cotton balls, Q-Tips, etc in the bathroom. Like i said, these jars can be used anywhere, and you can customize the ribbon choice to go with your decor. I think I might try wrapping the chicken wire ribbon around a candle-in-a-jar for a little farmhouse flavor. Thank you for sharing! I am inspired to go get creative!
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Donna Powell on May 20, 2020
Thanks. Good luck and glad you liked the project.
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Love it. I wonder if you had a larger piece of chicken wire...you could wrap it around the jar, and hang the jar kinda like a country/folk macrame?