Patriotic Mason Jar Craft

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Patriotic Mason Jar Craft Pattern

My daughter has been begging me to do a mason jar craft and since Captain America: Civil War is huge right now plus we have 4th of July and Labor Day coming up, I thought a patriotic mason jar craft was perfect. You can use it for your summer parties too. My friend Devon over at Midwestern Moms has an awesome pattern that would perfectly compliment this one! Stars and stripes all around. The craft is SUPER easy and I had a blast doing it with my 9 year old. She loved that she could take breaks in between coats of paint to play. Her attention span is nil in this weather. 🙂

What we used:

clear mason jar with lid (we got the mesh lid one at Walmart in the crafts department)
chalkboard paint
sponge brushes – varied sizes
fake carnation flowers
fine grit sandpaper (try to stay away from the sanding sponges if you can)
Styrofoam bowls for the paint (recycle them when you are done!)
newspaper to work on (it sands off easily)
sealant
blue painters tape
star stencil (we got ours in a letter stencil pack at Walmart)

Project:

Step 1: If your mason jar is used, wash it well and wipe it down with rubbing alcohol. If new, remove all stickers and use rubbing alcohol to remove the glue left behind.

Step 2: Using small strips of painters tape rolled, place the star stencil shape where you want the star to be.

Step 3: Apply two coats of white chalkboard paint allowing each coat to dry completely. Make sure it’s as even as you can get it. Tip: Make sure you paint from the inside out on the star stencil around the edges to keep the paint from dripping underneath and keep the paint thin in that area.

Step 4: When the white is almost dry, use a blue chalkboard marker to color in the star blue. This is not permanent until you spray it with sealant so make sure you are careful not to hit it with you hand until it dries. Also, don’t go over it again with the marker because it will come off.

Step 5: After the white paint and blue marker is completely dry, tape off the sections you want red with blue painters tape. Using a small painting sponge add 2 coats of red chalkboard paint in the marked off spaces, again allowing to dry thoroughly.

Step 6: Once the red is almost completely dry, slowly pull the painters tape off in an upward motion to keep the paint from chipping off. Let the red finish drying.

Step 7: Sand off the edges using the fine sandpaper that you want to looked distressed and also any drips that formed while painting. DON’T use a wet paper towel on the chalk dust, either blow it off or use a dry paper towel. In one bad spot I just touched it up with a watercolor brush and white paint.

Step 8: Spray with 3 coats of the matte sealant letting each layer dry completely. If you try to spray too close together you will get a weird white shading to the red.

Add whatever decorations you want to the jar, flowers etc. It can be used as a pretty citronella candle holder, it’s a great disguise if you don’t like the ugly terracotta pots. I am going to use the mesh top to keep little fingers out of the flame. I am definitely going to be making a few more using this pattern and Midwestern Moms. It will look super cute, especially once we get the deck painted. Since it’s white, the colors will really pop!