This is a great quick, easy and cheap way to make ordinary items rustic and pretty.

I used the quart size mason jars I found on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Ball-67000-Quart-Mouth-Silver/dp/B00AA1H3VI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1439920756&sr=8-2&keywords=quart+mason+jar )for this project.

What’s great about this project is that you can use the jars for numerous things and for more than one time or use.. I originally did these jars for my son’s wedding shower. I reused them again for flowers for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. I used the same flowers for the rehearsal as I did for the wedding. They were great accents to the tables. I went to Walmart and bought roses and filler flowers and they were cheap and pretty.

Step 1: What You Need

You will need

mason jars (or any brand) wide mouth

chalk paint of your choosing – I got mine premixed from walmart. If you prefer to mix the chalk paint yourself you will need paint, calcium carbonate and water

I get my calcium carbonate from amazon http://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohio-lb-Carbonate/...

sandpaper

hot glue gun and hot glue stick

paint brush of your choosing

Step 2: Personalization

The first step is to add the personalization that you want.

For my jars I used the wedding couple’s initials C and J and a heart.

I used this idea from another instruct-able I did last year for Harry Potter Apothecary Jars

https://www.instructables.com/id/Harry-Potter-Apoth...

Make sure your jar is clean and dry. Use the glue gun like a pencil and just draw your image on while squeezing the trigger.

Believe me I have very little artistic ability and they turned out ok. Also you don’t have to use a mason jar for the project any container will work just use your imagination. The best thing about chalk paint is that it will adhere to any surface.

Once the glue is dry you can move on to the painting step.

Step 3: Painting

Painting

So the range of colors you can use is endless. For the wedding she wanted yellow, sea foam green and white. I was able to find premixed chalk colors at my local Walmart in the craft section.

If you cant find a premixed chalk paint in the color you want just mix your own. It is super easy.

First choose any color latex paint. The local hardware store usually has a 8 oz sample size of many different colors

For the recipe you mix 8 oz (1 cup) of latex paint, with 2 tablespoons of calcium carbonate (http://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohio-lb-Carbonate/...

1 tablespoon of water.

I got this recipe from here

http://inmyownstyle.com/diy-chalk-paint-recipes

I have used this recipe many times and it works great!

When your paint is ready, and your glue is dry paint over the entire jar. ( put two coats of the paint on, depending on your container you may need more or less.

Some people say you don't have to paint the bottom, its kind of up to you. I painted the bottom.

Now let it dry.

Step 4: Roughing It Up

The last step is to “rough” it up.

Use the sandpaper (I used the sandpaper on the little foam block) and rub it over the bump areas of the personalization and the lip, and curves of the jar.

Its up to you have rough you like it.

Step 5: The End

And here is the end result. The flowers had a rough night so they don't look the best but you get the idea.

I thought they turned out great, you can see the table of food and how the jars were displayed there for the shower.

Again I went to Walmart and got the flowers to match her colors. Walmart did not have baby breath so I had to get those from Safeway.

They turned out pretty and just what she was wanting, without the big florist price tag, and because the jars and pull double duty for other parties they are a great useful tool.