How to paint mason jars

You've seen them everywhere on Pinterest and probably on blogs, but today I wanted to show you how I painted my mason jars!  I found an old crate of Ball and Kerr mason jars in my attic and I thought this would be a quick little project that would help me add color to my living room.

1.  I started the project by cleaning the inside and outside of the jars with warm soapy water.
2.  After drying the jars with a paper towel, I wiped the outside of the jars down with some alcohol to clean the glass so that the paint will "stick".
3.  I used Martha Stewart Acryclic Multi-Surface craft paint to apply 3 coats of paint on the outsides of the jars, allowing each coat to dry for 2 hours.  I didn't paint the bottoms of the jars because I didn't want them to stick to the surface I was painting them on and I'm afraid that the paint color will one day rub off onto my cabinets or coffee table.  The opacity the paint and required number of coats might vary due to the consistency of the paint and the color.  

4.  To get the distressed and used look of the jars, I used an 80 grit sanding block and lightly sanded the surface of the jars, making sure to apply more pressure on areas that would normally show signs of wear and tear.  Please, please, please make sure the paint is completely dry before sanding the jars.  I let my jars sit for a whole day before sanding them because I wanted to make sure all layers of paint were dry.

At this point, your jars are ready to be used as vases or just as decor around the house.  My jars are currently sitting empty on my coffee table, but I can see them being used as flower vases as well!

I hope you try this at home for yourself.  Mason jars can most commonly be found at Walmart or Target in the canning sections, but they can also be found at the flea market or antique faire for fairly inexpensive prices.  Also, remember that the size and shape of your jars don't have to match if you wanted to paint a cluster of jars.  Using mason jars from different manufacturers can add some variety of shapes and sizes to your project!