Miycreations Project article and photographs
by Madeleine M Langlois, MaddyLane Designs
MIY Valentine Project: Love Jars “Chalk up your messages of love!” with “Frosted jars for sweet messages”
Hands-on time: under 2 hours
Total time: Plus paint and matt medium drying time
Skill: easy and kid friendly, recommended for children 5 and up.
Project cost: Under $10.00
Materials & tools:
• Glass jars with lids in assorted sizes (available at dollar stores or use
recycle jars that you already have, mason jars can even be used)
• Newspapers
• Painter’s tape in assorted widths
• Scissors
• Red acrylic paint
• Paint tray
• Porous sponge
• Gallery Plaid, clear frost medium by Plaid
• Foil paper or use a disposable foil tray
• Chalk
(Materials for this project are available at arts, crafts and mentioned stores.)
Looking for a fun way to express words of love to your special Valentine? Easy to make writable decorative glass jars are painted with acrylic paint and top-coated with a clear frost medium finish. Words of affections can be inscribed over the finish, all around the jars with chalk. After Valentine’s Day, the words can be simply wiped off with a cloth without affecting the finish and
new words can then be inscribed. Writable jars are practical to use all year round, they are idea to label knickknacks jars for the laundry room, kitchen, office or workshop. This is an easy and fun project to do with children. Clean the glass jars thoroughly and wipe dry. Cover your work surface with newspaper and prepare your materials and glass items to be painted. To create stripes on the jars, mask off areas using painter’s tape. Make straight horizontal lines of different sizes using painter’s tape of various widths. Children may need a little help with this part, or simply let them apply the tape
as they wish.
Place some acrylic red paint in a paint tray, dip the sponge, dab it to remove excess paint and apply the paint all around the jars. Paint brushes will tend to leave brush strokes, and beside kids love to sponge paint. Once completed, place the jars upside-down onto newspaper to let them dry, approximately one hour. Remove the painter’s tape. Clean the paint tray and sponges with water to prepare for the next step.
Once the paint is completely dry you are ready to apply the clear frost medium. Once dry, the frost medium will act as a finish to seal and protect the acrylic paint. You will be able to inscribe chalk writing onto the jars and be able to wipe it off with a cloth and it won’t affect the paint’s finish.
Line a paint tray with foil paper or use a disposable foil tray, pour some clear frost medium into the tray. Apply the clear frost finish all over the jar using a sponge in the same manner as per the acrylic paint application. Once finished, again turn the jars upside to let them dry. The clear frost medium goes on clear, but as it dries you will see the jars frost up. Very cool! Let the frost finish dry and cure for at least 12 hours before inscribing chalk words onto the jars.
Inscribe your love messages using chalk, white or pink, directly onto the jars, in the front, or all around the jars. Fill the jars up with Valentine candies; chocolate or special token from the heart for your special someone. Children love this part! Inscribable jars make great gifts to give to grand-parents and teachers...or your special love ones!
Variations: The same concept as above can be applied to glass vases, recycled jars or glass candle holders. Candle holders are terrific to use for special event or party, write your dinner guests names onto smaller votive candle holders with chalk. You can also simply use red or pink chalkboard paints instead of the acrylic paint. You can also use chalkboard paints. I just used what i had on hand.
Instead of masking the jars with tape stripes, kids can use a variety of assorted self adhesive stickers such as hearts, circles, dots, stars and so on to create cool patterns around the glass jars. Get creative, You can even use it to insert a special gift.
Tip: Should you chose to keepsake the inscribe love messages, apply a varnish top coat over the chalk inscribed jars.
Notes: The above finish is for decorative use only. Not recommended to use on food consumption items such as plates, or drinking glasses. Do not put in the dishwasher.
View more MIy projects at www.maddylane.com
Copyright maddylane designs 2020
photos, text by maddylane designs
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