DIY Fall Harvest Mason Jars
This is the time of the year that we should be thankful for. It’s the time to look at our lives and take stock of the goods and positive things that we have and maybe take for granted during the rest of the year.
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, largely because it’s right by my birthday but also because my family has always come together for it. I have so many good memories of little boys stealing my hot pink wool hats and hiding out eating cupcakes stolen off of the counter and silly string fights in the room next door as the Thanksgiving plates sat dirty until the fun was over 🙂
But one of the things that I am always thankful for is that I’ve always had food for me and mine. We have not gone hungry. We have not been without. Once when I was asked what I was most thankful for in front of a lot of colleagues that was my response and I was told that it was a silly one. “Everybody eats!” “Boo!” and then I heard about being thankful for leather seats and big engagement rings. And on my way home I stopped twice to give money to people who looked like they could really use a meal. Because not everybody eats.
To celebrate the holidays with some pretty decor I decided to use food as a part of the design. Using clean mason jars I created a project where I can have a nice little display out, and after the holidays I can pour the contents back into the little bags they go in inside of my pantry. Waste not want not, right? 🙂
I think that the neutral but pretty colors really do a lot for this little project and it’s a good reminder next to my Thanksgiving table that we may not have everything in this world, but we have enough to eat.
For this project you will need:
- Clean mason jars
- Dried staple foods
- Paper and craft knife or cutting machine
- Spray adhesive (repositionable)
- Gold spray paint
or 
(repositionable)
If your jars are new give them a quick wash and a dry.
Fill your jars with pantry staples like lentils, rice, split peas or anything you might cook with.
FYI – I have both yellow and green split peas. I didn’t even know they had yellow ones! How pretty is that?
If you have a fancy cutting machine you can use the machine to cut out letters in a good size to glue onto the front of your jars. You can even go one step further and use adhesive vinyl and skip the glue step entirely.
But if you don’t have a fancy cutting machine no worries. Simply print your letters to size and cut out with a craft knife and scissors. The more simple the font the easier they will be to cut.
And in case you’re wondering, that’s JouJou right there. He finally realized that something was going on next to him and he took his leave so we’ll say goodbye to him 🙂 (did you see him barely there in the pics? I totally had to get fancy with my photography!)
Use repositionable spray adhesive to attach your letters to the jars.
You may want to move them around a bit until you’re happy with the placement. I moved mine around a bajillion times trying to get them perfectly level. It didn’t work out in the end but I was pretty sure I had it dead on before I busted out that spray paint. Still very pretty, though!
Hit with gold spray paint just on the fronts. It doesn’t need to be perfect and it doesn’t need to cover the whole jar. We just want the letters to be noticeable but we also want to see more of those lovely fall colors the foods inside the jars make.
After the paint has dried remove the letters and you’re all set!
Isn’t that just lovely?
Set atop my buffet right by the dining table these are a simple reminder that we have something to be thankful for this fall!
A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream {a Little} BIGGER.