It's amazing what you can do with a dab of spray paint. These unique vases are a sweet and simple little project that I discovered while looking for creative uses for the millions of mason jars I have collected in my kitchen. A modern, painted mason jar can hold just about anything: flowers, pens, cooking utensils, even cotton swabs!
I spotted this project on Joy's Hope, where a bit of Rust-oleum and some elbow grease produced these colorful vases.
The process is simple: fill the inside walls of a glass mason jar with spray paint, or equally adhering glass craft paint, roll to cover all sides, and then drip dry over a piece of cardboard. While not suitable for drinking from, a spray-painted mason jar can make flowers or household tools pop!
See more photos and instructions at Joy's Hope.
(Image: Joy's Hope)

White Enamel Four-P...
The Rustoleum shade of yellow is really spot-on. It makes anything look good.
I'm just going to go ahead and ask something I've been wondering for a while, since I noticed that Mason jars have a presence on pinterest as big as nutella and chalkboard paint. Where do they come from? Until I started seeing them on pinterest, I thought of them as a Depression-era item, or something that gets mentioned in country songs to invoke the good old days of America way back when. I had not idea they still existed in the 21st century. Is there something that actually comes in Mason jars so all these projects are reusing them? Or do people go buy them at a craft store or something?
Honest question. Those yellow painted ones are cute.
Eliz,
Mason Jars are pretty much the most versatile purchase you can ever make. We have a small kitchen garden, so I use most of mine for canning, but they are great for storage and organization as well. I inherited quite a few gorgeous blue ones from my grandmother that are still in use in my office as paper clip and pen holders.
They are also really easy to find. I live five minutes from downtown Cincinnati, and I can buy these at any grocery or hardware store.
So to answer your questions, people use Mason jars for all sorts of projects because they are inexpensive (depending on the size you will typically pay between $8 and $14 for a dozen), dishwasher safe, microwave safe, freezer safe, eco-friendly (they can be reused over and over again), and pretty much indestructible
And this paint project is definitely being added to my to-do list!
$8 for a dozen?? really? Do you know if there is a big box store that sells these? Such as a Michaels, or Joanns?
Owlgirlo,
Lowe's and Home Depot both sell them, as well as Walmart and Krogers.
@neenietam, thanks for the answer! I can picture some of those blue ones in my grandmother's old basement -- so pretty.
If you buy pasta sauce anyway, Classico brand comes in mason jars. Turns out this craft was the reason I've been hoarding mine, who knew?
If you really want good adhesion to glass with spray paint, use a glass frosting spray first. This works really well for a nice opaque finish. If you also use a primer before the colour, it works even better!