Skip to main content

Upcycling: Jar to Tealight Holder

I am a hoarder of useful jars, I just can't help it! You never know when you might need one to wash brushes in, make a mini-terrarium or use as an emergency vase. So I knew I had to keep this lovely mayonnaise jar - such a pleasing shape!




I put it through the dishwasher and cut off the plastic film label. I then used standard decorator's masking tape to make an outline on the glass. As it's Christmas I went for a simple Nativity of star, stable and crib with rays of divine light emitting forth.




It was a little fiddly to snip up the sticky masking tape, ideally the design would have been a bit more delicate. I think it would work well with smaller shapes dotted across the glass (might try that next!)




I then mixed acrylic paint (set of 20 tubes, £8 at The Works), using black and white to make darker and lighter shades of blue. I applied it to the glass with a dishwashing sponge which gives an even coverage and allows you to blend the different shades.




Once dry (I left it for a few hours) it was time to carefully peel off the tape. I was pleased with the crispness of the result though not too happy with the design as said. I feel that the light would look better shining through thinner lines.




Here it is lit up by an LED tealight.


This was a quick, fun and easy project which looked effective. It would definitely be one to do with the kids. You could also upcycle the jar to make a mini-vase, pencil pot, or sweetie jar.


Katharine

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eco-friendly Upcycled Face Wipes

 I recently ran up some eco-friendly face wipes for a friend. These are designed to replace cotton pads or face wipes, and are washable. To increase their green credentials I made the pad section from an old towel. I had some charm squares spare, so used those as the backing fabric. I cut the towel into squares that were slightly smaller than the charm square, and wrapped the fabric over the towel piece to form a small border.  I then sewed the top fabric down with a zigzag stitch. This meant I was mainly sewing on the fabric, as my machine can't sew through towel (unless I haven't found the right setting or needle of course)! Very very simple, but pretty and functional! There are lots of tutorials for other ways to make these face wipes, such as:  https://www.arosetintedworld.co.uk/how-to-make-reusable-make-up-remover-pads/ It seems to be even more simple with an overlocker:  http://juliawithanh.com/sewing/23-reusable-face-pads You can even crochet some! https://dab...

Dressmaking Mishaps

Today I thought I would share some of the very basic mistakes I've realised I'm making when I sew clothes... I'm entirely self-taught and working things out as I go along, so there are lots of 'oops' moments. That's fine - learning to sew is helping me to confront my perfectionism and understand how valuable errors can be. Mishap Number 1 : This is so obvious that I'm cringing to think about it!! I'm not the most 3D thinker which means sometimes it's hard to visualise how patterns go together. I understand that sewing patterns are all about getting a flat cut out piece of fabric to shape and mould around a lumpy curvy human figure, but that theoretical understanding doesn't always translate to understanding why a pattern is doing something specific.  So I was making an Assembly Line Cuff Dress and trying to sew up the bodice and I was struggling to get the pattern pieces to match up in a way that felt 'right' to me, that is, I had the id...

Sewing the Tessuti Apron

I've wanted to sew an apron for a while and came across the free Tessuti Apron pattern here . It was exactly what I was looking for, a cross-back apron with a square neckline. I decided to make it using this gorgeous pear print cotton twill fabric that I found at my favourite online fabric shop, DIY or Dye . I did look up whether the Tessuti Apron pattern would be suitable for a larger body like mine - it comes in a 'one-size-fits-all' pattern which is never really true. I did find fatter sewists saying they needed to adjust the pattern to lengthen the straps and widen the skirt section. I decided to make it as it came as I had a friend in mind who I could gift it to if it didn't fit me well. Above: Attaching the pocket Above: needle break! The folded layers of pocket in the heavy fabric were too much for a normal needle. I switched to a denim needle for the rest of the project. Above: halfway point. I still had the neckline to face and hem, and the straps to hem. Below...