Jars of joy

Marsha Smith shows you how to make easy decorative gifts, by turning a simple glass jar into something unique and thoughtful for that special someone.

What you’ll need

Plain glass jars and lids, any size you’d like Pencil Medium size paintbrush Scissors and craft knife Craft glue and superglue Ribbon and twine

For the reindeer

Masking tape Resene White paint Glitter stickers (I used snowflakes) Small plastic deer or similar Small pine cones

For the copper bling tree

Copper paint Stick-on gems Festive cookie cutter

For the stripes and strings

Assortment of strings, wool, twines and ribbon (choose colours to suit your theme) Gift tags Small Christmas bauble

For the hessian

Hessian print fabric or similar Fresh rosemary sprig Small wooden peg Note: Before decorating, give jars a clean to remove any dirt or surface grime.

Reindeer

1 Cover the front of the jar with strips of masking tape, overlapping them slightly to ensure there are no gaps. Using the template provided (far right), transfer the drawing of the deer onto the tape. Cut around the deer shape with a craft knife and remove excess strips of tape. 2 Paint the entire jar, except for the rim, with white paint. Once dry, apply a second coat. 3 When completely dry, carefully peel the masking tape deer away, revealing the glass underneath. Use your craft knife to scratch off any unwanted paint that may have bled into the deer shape. Note: If you think the deer may be too complicated, try a simple star or tree shape instead. Adorn the lid with Christmas stickers and use superglue to attach the plastic deer. To finish, tie lightly painted, small pine cones (or a decoration of your choice) onto string or ribbon and tie around the neck of the jar.

Copper bling tree

1 Paint jar, except for the rim, with copper paint. Dry, then apply a second coat. 2 When completely dry, use a pencil to lightly draw a triangular tree shape on the front of the jar. 3 Fill in the tree shape with rows of stick-on gems (I used a pack of various shaped pearls from The Warehouse), leaving a little space between each row. 4 Use a silky ribbon to tie a festive cookie cutter onto the lid. Note: The idea is to fill the jar with yummy cookie ingredients.

Stripes and strings

Any kinds of string, wool or thin ribbon can be used for this decorative effect. 1 Starting at the top, cover a third of the jar with craft glue. 2 Wind on your first choice of string. When you’re happy with the thickness, cut and move on to your next colour or texture. Make sure you wind the string nice and tightly as you go and use different thicknesses to add interest. 3 Repeat the glueing and wrapping process to cover the entire jar. 4 For the tag embellishment, I used a gift tag layered with a smaller wooden one. Tie with ribbon and add a small Christmas bauble for the finishing touch.

Hessian

1 Cut a piece of hessian that is big enough to fill the jar but still leave plenty of space inside. Arrange it inside the jar – try to make your folds look nice and neat. 2 Print the wreath template provided (right) to fit the jar’s lid, or make your own using card and other craft lettering. Use craft glue to adhere it to the lid. Shape a sprig of rosemary into a circle to make a cute wreath, secure it with a small wooden peg and tie it around the neck of the jar with ribbon or twine.