Tinted mason jars are beautiful and functional. Learn how to make your own with this easy tutorial and get some suggestions on how to use them.
Tinted Mason Jars
I love decorating my table, for some reason I always have. I love anything to add a special little touch; vases, flowers, tablecloths, napkins, runners, etc. My style is simple and clean and I don’t like a lot of clutter that takes too long to clean off when we are ready to eat a meal.
For much of the year, my decor on my table revolves around my antique mason jars or various lanterns, but this spring I wanted something really pretty and “springy” so I decided to get a little crafty with this tinted Mason Jar crafts idea!
–This DIY Rustic Succulent Centerpiece is another beautiful way to decorate for spring.
For this craft, you only need a few things that you probably already have on hand. This colored mason jars project takes a little bit of time from start to finish (because of baking time), but it is still very simple and fun to do!
DIY Tinted Mason Jar Craft
What You Need:
- Mason Jars or Empty, Clean Jars
- Food Coloring
- Paintbrushes
- ModPodge
How to make colored glass jars:
First, make sure that your jars are clean and dry.
In a small bowl (that you can either toss or that you use for crafts), mix together some ModPodge and food coloring until you have your desired color. Remember that the color will be darker and slightly different after baking. Add in plenty of food coloring to make sure the jars will have a good tint.
Brush the “paint” on the inside of the jars until you have them completely covered. Do not be afraid to put it on somewhat thick, otherwise, the color won’t be strong enough. Place the jars upside down on a piece of wax paper on the countertop and let them dry for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Take the jars and place them upside down in a baking dish or pan and put it in the oven at 225 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Remove the jars from the oven and let them cool before handling. Fill with fun decor or flowers and decorate anywhere in your house!
Uses for Tinted Mason Jars
This probably goes without saying, but homemade tinted mason jars should not be used for canning or food products. I’m using mine to hold some little antique kitchen utensils that I have for decor. Here are some other fun ways to use them around your home:
Gifts – A tinted mason jar is a perfect way to deliver a small gift for teachers, friends or family. Add in a piece of tissue paper or leave it out and fill it with your favorite Homemade Lip Balm, lotion, and a sweet little note. You can fill it with lots of little things, just make sure each is wrapped. I like to call these survival kits. Check out my suggestions for a winter survival kit and get some more Non-Food Gifts in a Jar ideas.
Gratitude Jar or Idea Jar – Tinted glass jars can be a beautiful place to keep things that we are thankful for, collect change, or store ideas.
For example, write some of your favorite date night ideas or family fun day ideas on popsicle sticks and display them on the mantle for when you are looking for some fun ideas for the afternoon. Or create a Thankful Thanksgiving Jar. Another fun idea would be to write down your favorite moments of the year as they happen and drop them into the jar. At the end of the year you can read through to see how much you have to be thankful for this year.
Storage – Your tinted mason jars are perfect for storing q-tips, cotton swabs or other non-food items in the bathroom. They would look beautiful in an office full of pens, markers or other craft supplies. Get some more ideas for Ways to Reuse Mason Jars (Other Than For Canning!).
Personalize Them – Use a glue gun to personalize your jars. learn how with these 7 Clever Glue Gun Projects. Personalized jars are great for gifts or storage.
Looking for more DIY Crafts? Here are a few to try:
- Ten Minute Table Runner
- Make Your Own DIY Essential Oil Diffuser; Homemade Reed Diffuser
- Creative Crafts for Old Crayons
- 11 Crafts and Other Uses for Coffee Filters
- Kraft Paper Crafts
- Soothing Lavender Eye Pillow Pattern
What do you use tinted mason jars for?
This post on How to Create Homemade Tinted Mason Jars was originally published on Little House Living in January 2015. It has been updated as of January 2020.
These look lovely! When you put the jars in the oven, do you put them right-side up or upside down?
Upside down in the oven. I will add that in the post 🙂
What is Modpodge & where do we get it? Also, will water inside the jars afterwards (if using for flowers) make the color come off? Thanks!
It should hold up to water as long as it’s dried out after use. ModPodge can be found in the craft section of retail stores near the paintbrushes.
Could these be used to can?
No, these would be for decorative purposes only.
These are really pretty! I would love to do this to some glass vases as well and add flowers to them. 🙂
Love this! Can imagine a few ways to use these in my kitchen!
Have you tried several stripes of different colors in one jar? Or baked one color, then added another and baked it again? This is awesome!!!
I haven’t but I think stripes would work 🙂
Do you think this would work for vases too? I have some utensils sitting in a cheap clear vase next to my stove that I would love to color. The glass is not as thick as mason jars though … Wonder if it would hold up to the heat …
I wouldn’t put anything in the oven that I was afraid might break in the heat. Personally I would only use Mason Jars that are made to withstand heat.
You can’t use them for canning if you tint them. What I will do is use the jars that I can’t use for canning anymore. I have a jar that did not seal and the reason was the top rim was rough so I’ll not use it for canning anymore and tint it.
Could you tint the outside instead of the inside of the jars? I’m thinking that would make great blue apothecary jars for herbals and such!
I tried these with my kids and they did not work. 🙁 Do you have any suggestions or hints? We were all disappointed. We were going to use them for jars for individual bathroom items, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.
Did you use all of the same ingredients? Did you add plenty of food coloring? I know they will show up much too light if you don’t add a good amount of food coloring.
Tried it again with LOTS of food coloring. It worked better but next time I will be usong even MORE food coloring! :p
I had no idea it was that easy to tint jars! Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Looks amazing!! Thank you for linking with us at #HomeMattersParty . We would love to have you again next week.