How To Paint and Distress Mason Jars

Have you seen those farmhouse mason jars? You can buy them online for $40 or more! I'm going to show you how to paint and distress a mason or recycled jar to look rustic for a fraction of the cost! You can see more of my crazy creations here
For this project I'm going to create 5 farmhouse mason jars. I picked a variety of sizes for what I'll be using them for. You can also use recycled jars as well.
I took the center part out of each of the mason jars as I would not be needing them for this project.
I washed all of the jars, and then I wiped them with rubbing alcohol. This will remove all of the oil, dirt, and other particles that might stop the paint from sticking.
I used white Folk Art Home Decor chalk paint and painted on my first coat on all of the jars. It is important to pick a paint that says it is okay for glass. If you don't pick the right kind of paint it could peel or scratch off easy.
After painting all 5 jars, I followed the paint instructions and let them dry for 1 hour.
You could stop with the first coat if you were happy with the results. This is great for luminaries as the paint will still be a little translucent. I wanted more of an opaque look so I painted a second coat on all of the jars.
I let all 5 jars dry completely before moving on.
I took a sanding block and lightly rubbed it over the raised words on the jars. This removes the paint from the raised lettering. I like sanding blocks as it helps to sand flat and I don't accidentally sand places I don't want to.
Sanding like this is called distressing. You can distress your painted mason jars as much or as little as you want. If you make a mistake, simply paint the jar again and start over.
I wound a little twine and tied it off at the top of each mason jar.
Once they're all done, it's time to use the jars. There are so many options! You could fill them with pens, pencils, etc and put them in your office. Set them on a lazy susan with some colored pencils, markers, and sissors for kids in the summer time. Give these away as gifts. Create luminaries....
I bought a soap dispenser kit from Amazon, added soap to the mason jar, and added the pump to it.
I'll be using mine in my bathroom. I added make up brushes, the soap dispenser, a vase, toothbrush holder, and cotton ball holder. I'm thrilled with how use these farmhouse painted and distressed mason jars will be, and at a fraction of the cost of buying them.
I would love to have you stop by my blog Chas' Crazy Creations for the full tutorial as well as sign up for my latest creations, posts, recipes, exclusives, and more...
I would love for you to subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more of my crazy creations - https://www.youtube.com/c/chascrazycreations
Enjoyed the project?
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Comments
Join the conversation
-
Cr180 on Jul 25, 2022
I really like the distressed mason jars for things in my bathrooms as well. I made mine 5 years ago when we re-did all of our bathrooms and they still look great! I just used latex/acrylic paint that I had leftover from the walls and in one bathroom I got a sample size jar at Lowes or HomeDepot in a contrasting color. Much cheaper than buying a ‘special’ paint unless you already have it on hand. Did not seal mine and all is still good!
-
-
Linda on Aug 21, 2022
yes, great for antique bottles too. You can always bring original color back.
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Is there any way to prevent the metal soap disorder too from rusting? I've had to replace mine a few times. I've tried spraying the inside with aclearseaker, but it still rusted.
Did you seal the paint on the jars?
How do you keep the paint from rubbing off when it gets yet? Mine got water on it and it started falling off. Followed the direction exactly using all the same materials.