Embellished Painted Mason Jar Fall Decor

by Vicky Kloppenborg

2 Materials

With re-purposed and painted Mason jars being so trendy these days, I thought I’d make a little fun Fall decor with a few of mine.
Last spring, I had saved some jars because they were embossed with a small checkered design on three sides, and had a smooth front, which I’m assuming was probably for a label. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them, but I liked the texture, and remember thinking the front might offer a nice surface for a tiny mosaic.

embellished painted mason jar fall decor, home decor, mason jars

After rethinking it a bit, I still liked the idea of a design on the front, but scratched the idea of a mosaic with grout, and choose to go with a fused glass tile instead.

I measured the smooth surface on the front to determine the size of the clear glass tiles I wanted, then drew a simple leaf pattern to fit on top of the tile piece. My drawing skills are not what they used to be, so this was definitely the most difficult part of the project for me. You could also find a pattern to trace if you like.

I picked out some fall colors of glass, and cut and ground them to fit my pattern. I had three jars, so I changed the leaf colors around so they were not all the same. All of the pieces were cleaned, then fired in a tabletop kiln, up to 1700 – 1750 degrees, just until the edges were rounded. My glass was all 96COE, but it doesn’t have to be. The only pieces that need to be COE compatible would be the middle leaf and small brown dots, nothing else is fused together.

Wanting my jars to be dark brown, I waited until I could take a piece of fired brown glass to town to match it. A brown spray paint would work too, but I opted to have a small sample sized can mixed for about $3.00.

Each jar was washed and given a quick wipe of alcohol, then painted with a foam brush. I did 4 coats for nice coverage. In between coats, I wrapped the end of the brush in a baggie and clipped it closed, so I only had to use one brush. After the jars were completely dry, they were speckled white. Once the speckling was dry, they were sprayed with clear matte sealer. Even though the paint is sealed, they may still scratch easily, so handle gently.

A fired leaf arrangement was traced inside the traced shape of a clear glass tile. Remove the leaves and replace the clear tile in it’s place over the leaf tracing. Following the traced pattern, glue leaf pieces in place with E6000. Let dry completely.

Lay a dry tile on the front of the jar to determine where your leaves will be located before gluing. For the best adhesion, scratch off a very small amount of paint in the areas that the leaves will cover. Put a small dab of E6000 on the scratched areas, lay the tile in place, and press down very lightly, obscuring the glue. Be careful not to use too much glue or it will seep out beyond the leaf and be seen through the glass. Let dry overnight.

Knot a length of raffia around the neck of the jar. Fill with fall flowers, a pretty napkin and tableware for an informal fall gathering, anything you like!

Happy Fall!

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3 questions

Carol Brown on Oct 05, 2016
But, you need a kiln to fire the glass, right,? So, this is a beautiful project, limited to those with access to a kiln. Thanks, anyway.

1
Dawna andrews on Oct 26, 2016
I really like these. You said the jars were speckled white...how did you do that? Thanks for sharing..Dawna

2
Lynn on Oct 29, 2016
what did you use to cut the glass leafs out of ?

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2 of 38 comments

Rembatb on Oct 04, 2017

Tasteful use of Mason jars. I love these!

1 Reply
Shelley Shermoen on Jan 29, 2020

Great alternative suggestion Vicki for this project when you don't have kilm

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