As one of the last bloggers in the cool, cool kitty corner of the craft blogs to play around with Mason jars, I felt it was time.
I grew up with canning jars used for every imaginable idea. My mother stored pasta, flour, and other dry goods in them. My grandparents actually used them to can food - imagine that! My granny put sewing notions in them.
More outlandish ideas included a place for spitting tobacco, fishing hooks, crickets, left-over paint, and shark teeth.
Probably the idea most of you would not imagine? Put under the car seat for an emergency bathroom. (Folks, back in the fifties and early sixties, there weren't public restrooms for miles and miles!)
Those olden times uses aside, I decided to go more mainstream with this Mason jar caddy.
I know you are truly relieved! (Get it -relieved.)
I washed the jars and painted with two coats of gesso on the outside for the primer.
Besides the three canning jars, I had bought this wire basket conveniently divided into three sections.
Funny how your junk seems to come together like that.
I coated the rim, handles and some of the wire of the basket.
At first I was going with the white of the gesso, but decided on a softer look.
Read my last post for the recipe of my goopy mixture. (Recipe here!)
This Mason jar caddy was the second of three projects I used it.
Two coats of the goopy mixture and two coats of satin craft varnish to get the jars ready for some ornamentation.
The rims were wrapped in off-white mini-jute twine with millinery flowers added.
Yes, the mini-jute is so mini, it almost can't be seen.
In person it is absolutely beautiful!
:>)
After all had dried, small gelatin molds were placed in the tops with candles.
Great for indoor dining or patio snacking.
HINT: Add some water in the molds or your glass votive holders before putting in the candles. It keeps the wax from hardening on the surfaces.
Since Chucks and I mostly dine on the sofa with lapboards, this is how I will use the Mason jar caddy - to hold craft supplies!
There is one more project I completed with that bowl of goopy mixture. That stuff sure went a long way.
And guess what - it does not include storing craft supplies.
See y'all!
I AM PARTYING AT DONNA'S PARTY JUNK 201 HERE!
This is a long overdue thank you post for a giveaway I won over at The Cottage Market. If you are one of the few people who have not visited there, you don't know what you are missing. First there is the Friday Junkin' Joe Link Party (See last week's here!) which is tremendous fun. It is unlike other link parties. Also, Andrea features these Take Five posts during the week with inspirational photographs. (Visit The Cottage Market here!)
All this loot and more were included in the giveaway. I must admit when I received the giant package, I dove right in and started using bits and pieces before taking a photo. Sorry, Andrea, but I just loved everything in there and could not wait. And, folks, there were MILLINERY FLOWERS!!!
This weekend I was experimenting with this goopy mixture and loved it. No furniture was involved, just smalls. I will experiment next time with a side table to see how it works out.
Goopy Mixture:
*A big spoonful of nonsanded grout
*Three big spoonfuls of gesso
*A glob of burnt sienna acrylic
*Three globs of pale yellow craft paint
Mix, mix, mix. mix, mix
It is the consistency of oatmeal.
Super thick - applied with a small foam brush.
Kept sealed in a bag when not being used. Stored in the refrigerator overnight. That was about the shelf life - 24 hours.
I chose several victims, er, test subjects for this technique.
First a tool caddy with a terrible fake wood grain paint job crying for a makeover.
I did clean the dust off before painting.
Two coats plain gesso. Then two coats of the goopy mixture.
This is how it looked.
I loved the creamy color and the coverage I got.
I know, why fool with coverage if you are just going to sand the heck out of it?
Believe it or not, it makes for a more finished look!
The tool caddy was the perfect size for eight aluminum molds.
I see craft supplies in here.
I loaded it down with the supplies from Andrea.
It looked very pretty sitting there.
BUT...
I loved the cottage craft caddy more when turned on its side - it will look wonderful hanging on the wall.
And I might be able to cram even more supplies in it.
There is no end to craft supplies around here.
I experimented with several other items with the goopy mixture. Stay tuned for the results.
See y'all!
I AM PARTYING AT DONNA'S PARTY JUNK 201 HERE!
