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I love glass bottles. I know I’ve said that before, but I just think that they are so pretty. I also have a love for mason jars. I like their history and rustic nature, while still being pretty.

For the wedding, I’m going for a classy/elegant look with touches of antique/rustic elements. I think both glass and mason jars fit well into that scheme. I’m going for a look similar to these images from my Wedding Board on Pinterest:

I really like the mixture of glass, candlelight, simple colorful arrangements of flowers, the textures of the burlap runner and jute and lace on the jars, and even the vintage books. I really like the antique blue mason jars in the bottom photo and would love to have some colored glass jars mixed in with the clear ones. Since antique blue mason jars can be kind of expensive depending on their rarity, I decided to try and see if I could find a way to color clear jars myself.

After a little research, I saw that people had tried this in various ways, but that most recipes used Mod Podge, water and food coloring. I decided to try it out on several old jars my mom had at home. (an old jelly jar, a clear wine bottle, an old olive jar and a small candle holder to be exact) I liked the antique blue color, but I had more red food coloring than blue and pink-coral hues fit in better with my wedding color scheme, so I decided to try for a pink/salmon/coral color. Here is what I did:

1. Wash and rinse glass jars, making sure that all of the labels and stickiness are removed from the outside. Let dry completely.

2. In a paper cup or other disposable container, combine preferred amount of Mod Podge (I used probably about half a cup or so for 4 jars of various sizes and had some leftover), about a tablespoon of water and stir in food coloring until the desired color is reached.

3. Set jars (I did mine upside down) on a paper plate, old newspaper or other work surface and using a small sponge brush or paintbrush, spread mixture onto the outside of the jars. (I read several recipes that did the inside of the jars instead, pouring the mixture inside and turning until coated completely, but I also read that if done on the inside, you couldn’t use water in them.)

4. Place jars on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil (so you don’t ruin it) and place in the oven and bake on the lowest setting your oven offers (mine was 175 degrees) until all the coating is dry and has turned from a cloudy color to a clear one. (If you wish, you can also put a second coat on and bake again for a deeper color.) If your jars are sticky, you might need to bake them longer.

5. Let cool and use for decoration! (I’ve also heard of people spraying these with a sealer of some sort, so you may do that also if you wish.)

So what did I end up with? I ended up with this:

Aren’t they pretty? I love the way they look with the light shining through them. They aren’t perfect though. If you look closely, you can see streaks from the coloring stuff and you can see the sticky mess along the tops from the mixture running down and sticking to the foil on the cookie sheet. At the wedding, they obviously wouldn’t have the same flowers in them, but I do think that here and there they could add pretty color and interest amongst other clear jars on the tables, don’t you think?