: Playdate Thursday with Lainie

Hi everybody! It's Lainie here for Flying Unicorn's Playdate Thursday with another quick and inexpensive little tutorial on how to alter some everyday items. No kidding, I used a spaghetti sauce jar, a syrup jar and a jam jar to make these beautified altered items. The greatest part is that they are simple, and can cost next to nothing by using staple supplies that are easily accessible.

I was experimenting so I did a couple of variations....I always like to try two or three items so that I know if it will consistently turn out - plus I already have everything out, I might as well get the most out of my time, too!

For the pink jar, I started out by stenciling a doily design (Bo Bunny Stickable Stencil) with some Golden Gel Medium Matte. I knew that the design would show up really well once the paint was applied inside the jar.

I gave the lid a quick couple coats of gesso.

Now the fun part was mixing Mod Podge (you could also use Golden Matte Medium or white glue and water) with acrylic paint. I am trying to use up some of my Silks paints/glaze so I used them. The 13 Arts Ayeeda paints would also work perfectly for this. You can really use anything and depending on the opacity of the paint you can get totally different effects.

I use an old container to get it good and mixed up...you kind of have to guess how much to mix up because each jar is a different size. Try to mix more than you think you will need because it really clings thickly to the side of the jar.

Next, you pour everything you have mixed into the jar - if you find you don't have enough, you can mix some more because the project is very forgiving if the color match isn't perfect.

Now you slowly turn the jar around and around, making sure the paint does not fall out. Essentially, the paint is just coating the inside from the bottom all the way to the top. This can take a little patience, being careful to cover any see-through spots inside the jar.

When you have finished getting total coverage, let them dry upside down on paper towels.

When they are completely dry (I let mine sit overnight,) you can start embellishing them.

I like these projects because it is a great way to use up bits and pieces of items you have leftover, or stray flowers that might mix in well.....here are the finished jars - so pretty and functional!