Easy DIY Tinted Mason Jars

Here is a Tutorial for tinting Glass with Mod Podge and Food Colouring. Turn the jar on the left into the jar on the right.

Custom-Tinted Mason Jars. Quick and easy!

You will need: Glossy Finish Mod Podge, Liquid Food Colouring, Glass Jars, bowl for mixing, whisk, spoon, paintbrush and a few drops of water.

Mix a couple of teasppons of Mod Podge, a few drops of food colouring and a tablespoon of water in a glass bowl. Stir it up very well. It should be quite runny and opague.

It will look like this. I used a few drops of red. It looks pink because the Mod Podge is white when wet. It dries clear so if you want pink jars you will have to use pink food colouring.

Paint the outer surface of the jar with a soft brush. I avoid the thread of the jars because I generally use the sealer caps and they get a bit gummy and tight if coated. If you are leaving the lids off you may want to paint to the top- it is just a bit messier.

I wanted to experiment with colour so I added some blue to the mixture to make lavender. I added a few drops more to make a deeper blue. This small amount of glaze will make about 6 500ml jars.

Paint the tops of the lids too. I avoid getting the glaze mixture on the edges.

Flip the jars upside down. I used a cloth to wipe the drips that ran down but there shouldn’t be too much of that. Your glaze may be too runny if it runs off. Add a little bit more Mod Podge if you need to. I let these dry overnight and here is the result.

I read in other blogs about their failure rate and I haven’t had any that I wasn’t happy with. I think that adding the water to the mixture prevents some of the streaking. I wasn’t trying to make them perfect so maybe other people were more concerned about little drips etc. I figure these can have a few imperfections and this adds to the character.

These are coated on the outside but you can also coat them from the inside. Put the glaze inside and turn it to cover all surfaces. Pour glue back into bowl.

~ For storing non-food items or use as a vase you will want to coat them from the outside
~ If they are just decorative and will not be filled with anything- you can coat them from the inside

Cleanup is super easy. I let the leftover glaze dry in the bowl and then I could pull it all out. It formed a skin that came off clean and did not have to go into my sink. This is a double-edged swrod because if your jars get wet- the glaze will peel off. This is great for a wedding bacause you can borrow vases or decorative items and clean them and return them afterwards but it also meanst that your jars are vulnerable to the surface being damaged. No big deal though- start back at step 1 this happens!

For serious Jar Collectors- have no fear- this will not damage the jars. A simple soak and wash will return them to their original collectible (or not) state.

NOTE: I left these on a bright windowsill and someof them faded back to clear. The Red seemed to be most prone to fading so keep them out of direct sunlight until AFTER you have used them. The green, blue and yellow ones have kept their colour.