Welcome to a new section in Honest Abe Living newsletter! In “Getting Crafty with the Smiths,” you’ll see fun and innovating ideas to re-use, recycle and get the full use out of items that often go overlooked. This section is to inspire your creative side while enjoying fellowshipping with family.
Our family, which consists of me, April Smith Patterson, and my husband Nick Patterson; Mom, Janie Smith; Bub, Shane Smith, and his wife Lesley Smith; niece and nephews Lily, Isaac, Eli and Andrew gets together weekly. Bub mans the grill while Mom and I both bring a side dish. This is my favorite thing to look forward to each week. Mom, Les and myself get our “craft” on outside while the children play with Uncle Nick. Lily does her best to help craft but usually ends up covered in paint or decorates herself instead.
We will try to bring you a fun new idea each month that will bring you closer to your family while inspiring you to use your creative side as well! We hope you enjoy this article as much as we have enjoyed it ourselves!
Mason Jar Craft
We all have mason jars lying around the house, whether it’s a wonderful gift of goodness someone has given us or we can ourselves. We can garden vegetables and jellies, so we had many jars to spare for this fun project!
What you’ll need:
• Acrylic Paint
• Mason Jars
• Sponge Brushes
• Fabric
• Buttons
• Embellishments
• Craft Glue
• Ribbons
First Step: Painting the mason Jars
First, pour some paint inside the jar. Then, take a sponge brush and begin painting the inside of the jar. If you want more color to show through, then do a second coat of paint after the first layer dries. Rustic Tip: If you want your jar to look more rustic, paint outside the jar instead of inside.
Second Step: Decorating the mason jars
The next and final step is to HAVE FUN! We took buttons, fabric, ribbons and embellishments to complete our jars. Simply cut the fabric and glue on with craft glue. You can also tie fabric tightly around the jar if you don’t have glue. We had a lot of fun trying different ways of spicing up the jars.
Helpful Hints: To glue fabric around the jars, simply take the art glue, apply it to a sponge brush, and brush lightly on the back layer of the fabric. Then, place the fabric on the jar and let it dry. Try gluing flowers or buttons in the middle for an added embellishment.
You can also leave the jars unpainted. Sometimes less is more. It all depends on what you’re going to do with them. Here are some ideas of what to use them for:
• Candle holders
• Pencil/ pen holders
• Flower vase
• Change jar
• Small flowering plant pot
• Office organizers
