Black and Gold Mason Jar DIY

I know that the majority of the time when you see a picture of me on here I appear all pretty and made up, with a pretty outfit and makeup. But the reality of the situation is that most days I don't bother getting out of my 'comfy clothes' (I'm writing this while sporting owl pajama pants and a hand-me-down baggy sweatshirt) or putting on makeup. Which is silly, because I do really like planning outfits and getting dressed up. I like makeup, too. Both of those things make me feel pretty and pretty good about myself (I'm not saying I need pretty clothes and makeup to feel good about myself, but it doesn't ever hurt). So, I guess, I'm trying to encourage myself to get ready a little more.

Will and I bought ourselves a new corner desk for our room with the money we got for christmas and it is so so nice to have a nice place to sit and work (before we had been sitting sideways on a folding chair at a tv cart). It's also great to have an organized pretty room to feel good in. I've been sprucing up and updating other areas of the room in little ways now too. We bought a new bookcase, because it matches the desk and was only $17 on sale at Target! I've got it set up on the wall next to our closet. I finally put up a full length mirror, between the closet any bookcase, and I've decided to use the top of the bookcase to store some of my pretty things, like my earrings and makeup. I think having all of it out it in the open let's me always see my options and also encourages me to wear them more!

But the mason jar I had my makeup brushes stored in just wasn't cutting it anymore. I was improving other areas of the bedrooms in little ways, so why not my makeup storage too? I went for glam, with black and gold; it ties into other areas of the room beautifully and adds just the right amount of glitter for my liking. I chose to paint the inside of the jar, with a gloss acrylic paint, so it would still have that glassy sheen. I didn't want it to look ceramic, like mason jars often do after they've been painted on the outside. I love how it turned out! See how simple it was to create below.




Black and Gold Mason Jar DIY

Supplies Needed:
+ a mason jar
+ black gloss acrylic paint
+ a foam brush
+ wide gold ribbon
+ E 6000 glue
+ black card stock (optional)

Directions:
1. Make sure your jar is thoroughly clean and dry. Squirt a bit of paint directly into the bottom the jar.
2. Start with a small amount and use that to cover as much of the jar as it can before adding more, so you don't get unnecessary buildup.
3. Swirl the paint around in the jar and use a foam brush to evenly spread it around and up the sides in a thin layer.
4. This fourth image is what mine looked like after one coat of paint, nearly completely covered, but you'll want to be real thorough. Let the paint dry for as long as recommend on the bottle and maybe longer as the paint will drip back down to the bottom as it dries.
5. I let my jar sit for 2 1/2 hours before applying another coat of paint. I then let it sit overnight to be sure it was thoroughly dry before placing anything inside it. This fifth image is what my jar looked like after two coats of paint and drying overnight.
6. Decide where you would like the ribbon to wrap around the jar.
7. Using a toothpick thinly apply E 6000 glue to the edges of the ribbon in small sections and apply to the jar. Wrap the ribbon all the way around, pulling it flat and tight as you go.
8. Overlap the ribbon and glue it to itself. Trim any excess ribbon and create a straight seam.
9. Smooth everything out and apply a very thin layer of the glue along the seam to seal it.

Once your jar is completely dry it is ready to use and be filled with whatever you fancy! I cut out a circular piece of black cardstock to fit in the bottom of the jar and simply laid it flat in there before putting in my makeup brushes. This will make cleaning it easier and keep the bottom of the brushes from chipping the paint on the bottom of the jar.



I love how this turned out and looks perfectly custom for the shelf it is on. It goes great with my pretty jewelry stand and little box, don't you think? Do you have any clever/cute storage ideas that you use?

xx Emorie