A Baby Gift ~ Lets Get Baked ~ Home Made w Love by Aunt Stacie

 It seems I have a endless amount of friends that are expecting . I'm so happy for them all and it's fun to see how different each one celebrates their upcoming additions . This weekend I have a baby shower luncheon to attend where the parents have asked that all gifts be home made or gently used . I think it's a wonderful idea and way of preventing a bunch of stuff you or your baby may never need . Their nursery theme is rainbow colors giving me tons of room to create my gift for them.

One of my favorite new crafts is painting and baking glass . I have been saving varied jars, vases, mixed matched glasses for a while . This particular gift started with two varied sizes of pickle jars . This project takes a day or two to complete so prepare to be patient for your final product .

Step One - Soak the jar in hot soapy water for several hours . Remove the label after several hours of soaking ( I use a pampered chef pan scraper, it works magic w label removal ) - I believe a set of 3 is $3.00 and let me tell you they are worth it . You'll know the label is ready to come off when it's color starts to change or show the soaking of water into the adhesive. When a label is ready to be removed it isn't difficult at all. With the scraper they come right off and rarely leave adhesive behind . Be sure to keep the lids that go with your jars and wash them as well.

If you're in need of a Pampered Chef rep so you can purchase these or any other

Pampered Chef item let me recommend , Theresa Holritz .

 

Step Two - Let jar dry completely. I left mine in the dish rack for a day .

 

Step Three - Day Two- Set out a news paper or use a space you don't mind getting paint on . Get multiple paint brushes, sponges, a paper towel and glass of water for rinsing the brushes between uses. Pick your colors for inside the jar and complimentary colors for the out side of the jar . I used normal craft paint that I already had on hand from previous projects . Since we will not know the gender of the baby until it arrives and the nursery is rainbow, I went with some primary colors fit for a boy or girl .

 

Step Four - Squirt your paint color inside the jar . I used about a table spoon of yellow in the small jar and then a table spoon of green, white and yellow in the larger jar . I then laid the jars on their sides alternating positions every fifteen minutes or so . Allowing the paint to move around and create a pattern on the inside . You can't really have a "plan" for the inside of the jar in my opinion. You just gotta maneuver, shake, lay , and let the paint go where it may . The Green jar ended up looking like a nice marble swirl/tye dye and the Yellow jar looked as though the paint was a melted wax . I placed the lids back on the jars after putting the paint in . That way I could shake, move, etc. the jars with out fear of paint flying everywhere.

 

 

Step Five - Add some personality . The smaller Yellow jar I used a round sponge and placed circles in varied places around the bottom 1/3 of the jar . I used red, white and brown thinking that would pop with the yellow that is inside the jar . For the Green larger jar I made swirls with several different sized paint brushes in white, yellow and brown . Since the inside of the jar has white and yellow I found it to be a good compliment. And the brown with yellow bringing a connection to the yellow jar with circles .

 

Step Six - After the outside embellishments dried I removed the lids and placed the jars open side down on a news paper . Every hour or so I would move them to a new spot so that the access paint could drip out of the jar. There doesn't seem to be a quick way to do this part . Again, you just have to let the paint move as it wants .

 

Step Seven - After about four hours of paint draining I began to bake the jars . Place them open side up on a baking sheet in the oven. Do not preheat the oven !! Allow the oven to heat up and cool down with the jars inside it . Once your jars are on the baking sheet and in the oven turn the dial to bake and 350 degree's . Allow the oven to heat up and then bake for 30 minutes at 350 . Once the 30 minutes is up turn off the oven and leave the jars inside on the baking sheet . Allowing them to cool with the oven . All in all my jars spent about 2 hours in the oven . I took them out before I went to bed and allowed the little bit of warmth left on them cool on top of the oven, still on the baking sheet . Be sure to keep an eye on your jars through out the baking. I didn't sit and watch them , but I did check on them periodically.

 

 

Step Eight - Day Three - I was excited to see how my paint had dried/baked . It looked perfect . I then took them outside and sprayed them inside and out with clear glaze to add a gloss to the paint and some extra surety that the paint won't wash off . Between the baking and clear glaze these jars should be gently hand washable. The wine glasses I'd painted last spring held up well with hand washing . A dishwasher wash would be far to harsh for hand painted glass even once it's baked and glazed .

 

Step Nine - I chose to add some brown twine as a embellishment and add another connection between the two jars . I already had two spools of twine that I had scored in a clearance bin somewhere . I'm super glad I'd bought them even not knowing what I'd use them for .  Using hot glue I carefully adhered the twine in specific spots to the jar, pulling the twine tight so that it doesn't scoot down the jar. I think it makes the perfect addition and finished touch to these home made cotton ball and Qtip holders . The mommy-to-be can of course use them for whatever she like or finds most useful, but I'm going to add cotton balls and qtips to the inside of the jars as apart of their presentation .

 

 

 

 Reduce ~ Recycle ~ Repurpose

Once again a good reminder that a great craft or gift is just waiting to be made in your very own home . You just gotta look around and see what can be repurposed.