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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Easy & Cheap Autumn/Fall Inspired Kitchen DIY Using Mason Jars for $10!


Easy & Cheap Autumn/Fall Inspired Kitchen DIY Using Mason Jars for $10!

Happy October 1st everyone! It is finally that time of year where everything just gets cozier in my home. I get better sleep, my coffee tastes more scrumptious, & soothing bubble baths feel more relaxing and less like a sauna. Last year around this time, our area of Colorado was hit by heavy rain and biblical flooding - "The 1,000 Year Flood" to be exact. Stress for my husband & I were at an all time high - we were evacuated from our newly purchased home and we had no flood insurance. In the end - praise God - our home was safe, but needless to say our first Fall in our new home was everything but relaxing. Even driving around and seeing the aftermath of such great destruction everywhere was mind-boggling and honestly, a little traumatizing. So, this year I wanted to make our home feel extra cozy. I decided to start in my kitchen because it's where I spend the majority of my day. I wanted to incorporate that classic Autumn orange-red hue along with a cozy cream/beige color, harvest sunflowers, and mason jars for that county-cottage feel.

Colors: Terra Cotta (left) & Orange Spice (right) - on sale for 50 cents each!



I purchased these acrylic paints & sponge applicator from Michael's. I combined the colors to get that mix of red & orange I was aiming for.




To prep for the paint, I took a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol and cleaned the outside glass of my mason jars & let that dry ~ 1-2 minute. This will get rid of all traces of oil or dirt that could mess up the finish of your paint. Then, I painted one thin coat at a time with my sponge applicator letting each coat dry for 15-20 minutes, or until dry to the touch. I applied 3 coats total. When the painting was complete, I tied twine to the top of the jar (as shown above) for that touch of 'country home'.You could even take it a step further from here and distress the jars up a bit using low grit sand paper and gently sanding off some of the paint for that vintage look!

50% off! - $2.49 for each bouquet
Next up are the sunflowers. I also purchased these from Michael's. As you can tell by the picture, these bouquets used to be fuller. Using wire cutters, I cut off one sunflower at a time and arranged them into the jars to my liking.


Medium size mason jar (left) & Large size mason jar (right)

For the orange-red painted jar (shown on the left) I oriented the cream-colored sunflower to line up with the front of the jar to juxtapose the orange-red color of the jar itself. For the cream painted jar (shown on the right) I did the opposite - placing the yellow sunflower at the front in order for the cream color of the jar to pop more. I also used more of the yellow & orange sunflowers and less of the cream sunflowers because the jar is already cream itself.


Everything from Michael's :)
 For that 'harvest' touch, I took it a step further and added this cute little bronze-colored basket to the whole arrangement. I filled the basket with brown moss and topped it off with a cute mini pumpkin & pine cone, but you could use whatever you like for your own personal touch :)




Add some of your favorite kitchen lotions, a Fall candle, and there you have it - my very easy, simple, & classic Autumn Kitchen DIY using mason jars! Enjoy! :)

xx,
Jessica