Painting Mason Jars with Chalk Paint is a fantastic way to start celebrating Spring! It is just around the corner, and this is a super easy, super cute DIY perfect for getting you in the mood. Our Regular Contributor, Michelle James, has done it again! You will love this project.
Painting Mason Jars with Chalk Paint
An Easy and Fun DIY Project
I love spring home décor projects. I have wanted to paint some mason jars with chalk paint for a while now, and spring is a great time to do this. I always see such fun photos with spring flowers in pastel jars, and I think they look so nice.
Start by painting the rim of the jar. Hold it toward the bottom, and work paint around the jar making your way to the bottom.
Then set it down, and paint the bottom of the jar as well.
This is after one coat
Let this dry completely, and add a second coat.
After the second coat has dried completely, you are ready for sanding. This is one of the fun parts. I love to have a distressed look to my décor. Lightly sand over the raised parts of the jar so the glass is revealed.
Then you need to apply the wax coat, and let that dry completely.
When it is ready, use a soft cloth and buff the finish to a soft sheen. You can see this in the picture below. The jar on the left is buffed, and the jar on the right is not. This step makes a big difference and really creates a professional look. I love it!
Now you are ready to add flowers or greenery or even create an herb garden.
Today, I have something really fun for you. If you have hung around here for any time at all, you know that I love Halloween. So, when Jason at Dealspotr.com asked me to collaborate with him on a Halloween post for their website, I was thrilled.
Dealspotr.com is the best community for finding and sharing deals. I used the resources on the Dealspotr website, and armed myself with great coupons for purchasing the supplies I would need. You can read more about that here–they helped me get a lot of Fright for very little Bite!
This DIY Halloween project is really very easy to create.
Here’s what you need:
1 Can – Krylon Looking Glass Silver Spray Paint
1 – 8″ x 10″ Picture Frame
1 – Image to fit an 8″ x 10″ Frame
Scotch Tape
How to Make the Haunted Mirror:
Choose your Image
Scan Image and create an Inverse Image
Print out two copies – 1 Original Image, and 1 Inverse Image
Take Glass out of picture frame. Clean Glass very well.
Tape the Inverse Image to the front or outside of the glass (image side facing the glass). This allows you to see exactly where your image will be once it is in the frame, and will help you during the spray painting.
Place glass image side down on your spraying surface. You can see the image through the glass.
Shake Krylon spray paint vigorously
Spray the entire glass with a fine mist of paint
Then add more paint in small spurts, especially to the areas around your image. You want there to be enough paint to create a mirror, but lighter paint on top of the image so that it shows through.
Let the paint dry for at least one hour
Remove the Inverse image from the front of the glass and clean glass carefully.
Place glass back into the frame–Glass side out, Painted side to the inside.
Load the Original Image into the frame
Time for some Tips:
Clean the glass, then wipe it down with alcohol. Any fingerprints or oils will interfere with the paint sticking properly.
Blushing: If you get blushing with your spray paint, don’t worry. The Krylon Looking Glass washes right off easily with a little soap and water. (What is Blushing? Blushing occurs when there is high humidity in the air. The moisture settles on the not cured paint and causes a milky whiteness or flat white look in the paint. This happened to me on my first attempt, because I did the spraying after the marine layer came in from the ocean–silly me.)
Tips for your Image:
Areas not showing up well – I had a large white area on my image over about half the face. So, I used colored pencil to draw it in better.
White is showing up to bright – Again, this was the case for me, so I sprayed a light coating of the Looking Glass spray paint directly onto my image to tone it down. This worked great, and also gave the image another dimension.
Be sure that you have enough paint around your image to make the glass really look like a mirror. That way your image will appear to be coming through the mirror–a very spooky effect. (You can clearly see the apple in the reflection.)
So, just play around with it, until you reach your desired effect.
Being that this project is making a mirror, it is difficult to photograph (at least for me any way). But I think I managed to get some pretty cool shots of the Haunted Mirror–take a look…
Notice the reflections in the mirror…
The reflection here is a hutch. It almost looks like the lady is pushing her way through the wood.
Look at her reaching for that apple–Who is the fairest of them all…
Imagine catching that face out of the corner of your eye…spine chilling.
I hope you have enjoyed our little Haunted Mirror Halloween DIY project. There was a lot of fun had while making it for you. Have a Hauntingly Spooktacular Halloween!
…
Coming Up:
Jason from Dealspotr.com is writing a post that will publish here on Tuesday: 5 Up-cycling Ideas For Kids Room Decorations
Be sure to come by and check them out!
You may have read previously that we are turning a room in Luke’s house into a Guest Room / Rory Room. You can read about some of our Bedding Ideas, here. A major part of re-doing any room is painting, but what color do you choose? Choosing the right Paint Colors is always one of the most difficult decisions to make.
Painting a house or just a room is a large investment — in time, hard work, and money. Add to this the absolute plethora of color choices, and a decision is not easy. So, how do you choose just the right paint colors for your wants, wishes, and needs? Luckily, I have a dozen tips to aid you in making this decision, and lead you to a color that you will love.
Sample Chips, get your Tips here…
What mood do you want to create and inspire?
Different rooms in your home are used for different types of living. Think about how you live in the room you are planning to paint, and what feeling you want the room to express. Our guest room for example, we want to bright and cheery, yet cozy and relaxing.
Look for color scheme inspiration.
Find color inspiration from your other home decor, fabrics, magazines, Pinterest Pins, Color Scheme swatches, or Open Houses. The Design Seeds website is an awesome resource for color inspiration.
Gather paint brochures.
Not only will paint brochures give you ideas for color schemes, but you can see the actual paint colors that are available from the brands of paint you are interested in using.
Consider the furniture style and color.
Think about your furniture style. If you have shabby chic furniture, you are probably not going to want something ultra modern and cold.
Think about transition and flow.
This is important. You want your home to feel cohesive and inviting, and not just a bunch of chopped up rooms stuck together. Pay attention to what you see of the room you are painting from the other rooms and hallways on your house, as well as what of the rest of the house you see from the room you are painting.
Choose a basic 5-color palette for the house.
Color adds warmth, and depth, and provides a pop. It touches the soul and makes you feel. So, in conjunction with the previous item, transition and flow, decide on a color scheme for the entire house. Now, this does not mean precise colors, but rather just a basic scheme. Pick three to five colors — 1. A White; 2. A Neutral; 3. An Accent Color; 4. A Coordinating Color; and 5. Another Coordinating Color.
Get sample paint cards or strips, and place them on the wall you will be painting.
You are re-paingintg anyway, so go ahead and tape those sample cards right to the wall. Tape from the back so you leave the color fully showing. Leave them up for days, a week, or more.
Make note of lighting (both natural and electric), and understand undertones.
Light plays on colors in different ways, and differing light can bring out or mute the undertones in the paint colors. What are the undertones in the colors you like versus the colors you are not liking? Yellow, Red, Blue, Green? The easiest way to determine undertone is by holding the paint chip next to a white piece of paper. It is easier to find a color you like once you know what color group you favor.
Narrow your choices to 2 – 5 colors, and buy sample jars of paint.
You can purchase small sample jars of paint. They are not that expensive, and it is by far the best way to help you truly decide on a color. Sample cans cost a lot less than a gallon or two of the wrong color.
Paint samples onto Poster Board to make large color swatches and hang on the wall.
This is one of my favorite tips. Hang poster boards on the wall and paint them with your selected paint colors. You have just made a large paint swatch. This gives you a much better idea of what the true paint color is, and how it will look on your wall.
Check paint swatches at varying times of day and lighting.
Look at your painted swatches at all times of the day and night, and with various lighting, so you know how your color will look under every circumstance.
DO NOT RUSH into a decision.
This is probably the most important of all the tips. Paint is something you live with day in and day out for years on end. In the long run, waiting a few weeks or a month to choose the right paint colors is really no time at all.
I hope you find these tips helpful in choosing the right paint colors for your project. If you have any other tips or suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
