I really need to step up my mason jar Valentine’s craft ideas.
I’ve been remiss …
please accept my apologies.
My creativity has iced over, much like most of the country. And all of Chicago.
Which is where I live.
And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I started this project over a month ago. And then it stalled …
and sputtered …
and spurted.
Until last week. That’s when I bit the bullet and finally … finally … added the finishing touches.
The hearts!
My favorite.
How to Make Painted & Distressed Valentine’s Heart Jars
Materials*
Ball Pint Size Regular Mouth Mason Jars
White Paint (I’ve started using White Primer as the base coat)
Americana True Red Acrylic Paint
Folk Art Bright Baby Pink Acrylic Paint
Paint Brush
Washi Tape
Toothpick
*affiliate links included.
Step 1: Paint the Jars
Paint each jar with a base color. I painted two jars with white and one with pink.
Tip: You don’t have to use chalk paint (which can be expensive). You can use acrylic craft paint. However, I’ve started making these jars using white primer for the white coat. It adheres to the jars much better and doesn’t get lifted off with the next step. It makes the touch up so much easier.
Step 2: Washi Tape off Stripes,Touch Up & Paint
I used Washi tape to tape off the stripes.
And then used a contrast color to paint between the stripes. For the white jars, one was painted with pink One with red. The pink jar received red stripes …
Now for the downside … the Washi tape pulled off some paint. A bit more than I wanted to distress, so I touched them up.
Step 3: Distress
I used 80 grit sandpaper for this step. And, no, I have no photo for this step.
Step 4: Paint Hearts
This is a 3-step process. I started with a single, paint heavy dot …
And then added a second, paint heavy dot right next to the first one …
Using a toothpick, I pulled from each paint heavy dot to make the heart’s peak. Or would that be the heart’s base?
And voila!
Painted and distressed Valentine’s mason jars with hearts!
Oh, and I finish them off with clear coat sealant in a matte finish.
Linda
P.S. Can I share a secret here? I’ve become a bit partial to the pink and white striped jar with red hearts …
Shhhh. Don’t tell the other jars. I would hate to break their hearts … 
Sharing:
* My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia * A Stroll Through Life * Cozy Little House * Link Party Palooza *
P.S. I’ve participating in a cash giveaway over on Facebook. You could win $750, $100, or $50. Click here to enter …
Be STILL my Heart!!!! I am in love!!!!!! : ) hugs my friend!!!!
Wonderful! These are true works of art! I love them! Thanks for sharing!♥
OMG! This is the cutest thing ever, and your photos are spectacular. The pink and white with red hearts is my favorite, too.
I love it, and the white with pink is my favorite too 🙂
These are adorable! I love Mason Jars and how many uses they come in handy for!
Cute, cute, cute. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
I’m gonna have to add this to my favorite valentines day blog feature !
what size jars did you use?
I used pint-sized regular mouth jars for this project.
love it! Just curious why Washi tape? Would painters tape works also?
The painter’s tape took off too much of the paint with it. The Washi is not as sticky so it didn’t take off as much paint when I removed the tape.
Hi Linda, my 9 year daughter really wants to make Mason Jar crafts and we just found your site. We have the supplies and are ready to go but we didn’t realize it was white chalk paint. Can we use our white acrylic paint on this project?
You can absolutely use acrylic paint on the jars! What I’ve found works even better (with less paint being peeled off when you remove the tape) is to paint the jars with two coats of white primer. Either Zinsser or Kilz. This will be your white layer. Give it overnight to dry before taping off. Good luck!
Hey Linda, thanks, we did use the white primer (could only find Martha Stewart brand at Joanns). It did work well and we have done the pink stripes so far and it is looking good. Project is on hold due to homework (my 9yr old daughter is doing the project) but would love to send you a pic when it is done. Is there a way to upload a pic? Also God Bless you for being so patience with your readers comments. You repeated your white primer comment so many times in the reply to comments section! LOL What patience you have!
I think I’m going to add the white primer tip on the post too — thanks for the reminder! You can post a photo on my Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/MasonJarCraftsLove. And you can also send it to me at linda@zbraden.com! Can’t wait to see how they turned out! And I love that your 9 year old is so crafty … and patient! These are not the easiest of jars to make!
🙂 Linda
I love this idea! I am doing this project right now. I’m curious if you used chalk paint for all of the colors. I am also wondering if you did two coats of the white. I have done one coat and it seems streaky (I used a sponge to paint). Or if you used something else like a roller so it’s not streaky? Thanks!
Crystal,
I do two coats. Also, I’ve started using white primer (Zinsser) for the two white base coats vs. the chalk paint. It sticks much better to the jars, especially if I let it dry overnight before taping off the stripes. Much easier touch up too! For the other colors, I used matte finish acrylic craft paints from the craft store.
Hope that helps!
🙂 Linda
Does it have to be chalk paint? Will acrylic work?
Yes, acrylic can work. I’ve actually started using white primer as the white coat because it adheres to the jars much better and lessens touch ups!
Hi! Just did this project. Do you need to seal the paint with anything? I would like to wash it and didn’t want the acrylic paint to wash off. Thank you! ~ Hannah
I give it a spray of clear coat matte. You can find it at Michaels.
Thanks so much for the tutorial! I made a couple of my own and it was fun, but so time consuming! I would have gladly bought these from you if I knew beforehand. You need to charge more for the amount of work that goes into these! ?
You are so very welcome!!! I actually used to charge even less for these at the shop! I probably do need to up my price – but I worry it will hurt sales. Especially since shipping is so ridiculously expensive!
Hello! I would like to try these Mason Jars craft as an activity for a group. How long does it take for the jar to dry off after the primer or white paint? Thanks!
Ps. They are pretty btw 😉
I like to give my jars and overnight dry time. I find it works best that way.