Jam jar cuties

Add a pop of colour to your home – these jam jars just need a splash of paint to make cute kitchen tidies!

Add a pop of colour to your shelves.

Sticky-back plastic comes in lots of shades, try a few variations so

INFORMATION Materials

* Jam jars

* Rust-oleum Multi Purpose Surface

Primer spray paint

* Rust-oleum Painter’s Touch Craft Enamel spray paint in Blossom Pink, Buttercup Yellow and Tranquil Blue

* White opaque sticky-backed plastic

* Craft knife

* Cutting mat

* Template from page 128

Skill level: Easy Time to make: 4 hours

Jam jars are the mainstay of the avid upcycler as there are literally hundreds of uses for these great little pots. Our spray-painted jars can be used not only as storage, but also as planters, utensil holders and are perfect for displaying flowers with their candy colours. The technique of using a cut-out of sticky-back plastic creates a stencilling look but without the worry of using a mask. Why not try other simple silhouettes or monograms to give a personal touch? The options really are only as limited as your imagination!

How to make the jars

1 Clean the jar with warm soapy water and make sure it’s completely dry.

2 In a well ventilated room (or preferably outside) put the jar in an old cardboard box to prevent overspray. Give it a coat of white surface primer. This saves on many coats of colour but also makes the glass inside the jar white. Once dry, apply a second coat if desired.

3 Once the primer is dry, apply the colour coats of spray paint. You may need a couple for complete coverage, depending on the finish you’re after. Remember to spray a little around the inner rim of the jar for a neater, more professional finish.

4 Trace the animal silhouette you’ll find on p128 onto a piece of paper. Enhance the shape you’ve drawn with a soft pencil so that you have a thick pencil line. Place the tracing face down onto the paper back of the sticky-back plastic. You should be able to see the thick pencil line through your paper.

Trace around this carefully to transfer the image to the sticky-back plastic paper backing. You may need to redraw round the template once it’s transferred to get a neater, more definite edge.

5 Using a sharp craft knife and cutting mat, cut around the animal silhouette on the sticky-back plastic.

6 Decide where you want your motif on your jar and, if you need to, make a tiny mark with a pencil for positioning. Peel off the backing paper and place the motif onto the jar, smooth out any bubbles with your fingers making sure you work from the inside of the motif to the edges.