One of my resolutions this year is to declutter my home and get organized. The first room I am starting with is my kitchen because we use it every day. When my husband and I bought our house I thought how huge my kitchen was with all the cabinets and drawers (and it was compared to a little one bedroom apartment!) but 7 years and 2 kids later that kitchen seems a lot smaller! The drawers are stuffed full of little gadgets, utensils, and odds and ends and it made finding what I was looking for seem like a prize in a scavenger hunt. I wanted an inexpensive storage solution to declutter and organize my kitchen drawers and came up with this easy inexpensive jar craft!
(If you need help staying on track with your own resolutions check out this free New Year’s resolution printable.)
To Get Your Craft On You Will Need:
Ball, Mason, or Empty Pasta or Jelly Jars (as many as you need to hold the items from your drawers)
Spray Paint (I used 2 colors for a variety and make sure the paint works on glass.) If you do not want to use spray paint you can use an all surface paint in a can with a brush or a glass paint such as the one by Coloration. All surface paints will adhere to the glass but can scratch so work best on decorative items such as the canisters.
Ribbon (Again I used 2 to coordinate with the colors of the jars.)
Embellishments (can be found at any craft store)
Decals, Stickers, or Paint Pen to put sentiment (Optional)
To Get Your Craft On:
First I spray painted the jars in a bright blue and green to match my kitchen colors. It took about three coats for the jars to no longer be transparent. A reader suggested using a primer so that may reduce the number of coats needed.
Once the jars were dry I measured the jar with the ribbon, cut it, and tied a ribbon around the neck of each jar. I used a green gingham to accent the blue jars and a green print with pinks, blues, and browns on the green jars. I am in the running for world’s worst bow maker so I did a simple tie but if your bows turn out nicer, a bow would be really cute. (Note the ribbon shown was too wide when I used it on the jars so had to make a last minute switch to the green circles. It frayed when I tried to trim it. But you can learn from my mistakes. 
)
Next I hot glued these blue and green flowers from The Paper Studio to dress them up even more. I put the big flowers on the large jars at the base and the smaller flowers on the side of the small jars. There are flowers, jewels, or you could even do polka dots using a small sponge. There are infinite possibilities to personalize the jars.
Finally I used my silhouette to cut out white vinyl letters saying “Choose To Be Happy”. I love the idea that for the most part our happiness is our own choice. I also thought the upbeat saying went well with the bright happy colors. If you want to do a message but don’t have a Silhouette, you can do stick on letters or even a paint pen.
I cleaned out two drawers of all of these items that there was no room for but I didn’t want to part with. I think the drawers actually heaved a sigh of relief like when you take off a pair of pants that are too tight! I did 2 large jars for wooden spoons, burshes, and whisks and then 2 smaller ones for my kids’ utensils, and smaller items like meat thermometer and measuring spoons. It made a huge difference in being able to find things in the drawers but also will make it easier to find the items on the counters. And I am willing to give up the little bit of counter space for some organization!
One of the newly organized drawers looked like this. Wow it actually closes now!
And the jar craft that helped declutter and organize the drawers looked like this! The whole project was so easy (paint, tie a ribbon, and glue on some doo dads) and was less than $10. One of the best returns on crafting investment that I’ve had some far! I’m coming for you Declutter Resolution!
Hi,
You have some great ideas and we would like for you to share with our readers too. We are hosting our first link party tomorrow and we would like to invite you to link up with us. We have a fun blog to co-host with us. Hope to see you there.
Thanks!
The Busy Bee’s,
Myrna and Joye.
http://thebusybhive.blogspot.com/
I stopped by and linked up! The cake looked delicious! THanks for the invite!
Twitter: motherlyloving
says:
Thanks for linking up at the City of Motherly Love’s block party =) I am taking out my mason jar now!
Twitter: motherlyloving
says:
Looks beautiful! I actually have an empty mason jar that I’ve been saving, and I think it’s found a purpose. Visiting from sixsistersstuff.com.
Link up at my party too, if you’re interested! cityofmotherlylove.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by! Heading over now to link up!
I love these.The inspirational words are great touch.
Thank you! I saw it on one of those quote signs on Pinterest and just loved that you could choose.
I need to do this with some of the kiddos stuff. It has taken oven my kitchen drawers. Easy to grab kids cutlery is a great idea.
It is so nice to be able to find things in my drawers again!
I would love to do this!!! I need some organization in my life!! LOL
My goal is to get organized in 2013! I am going room by room. Hope to finish by December.
oh my what a cute idea!! we have so many utensils shoved i a drawer this is a great idea! thanks
Thank you! It was really easy to do. Jars are so versatile for crafting!
What a cute idea! I love projects that are simple like this. And it’s immediate gratification. Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you! It was so so simple! And I’m thrilled to be able to find things again!
Twitter: meganr
says:
At craft stores you can often find paint (usually bottled, not spray) specifically for glass – that would help to avoid flaking and avoid having to prime – and most types are available in a variety of opacities so you can make the jars as transparent as you want.
I will have to look for those paints! Thanks for the suggestion. I think the jars will be ok on the counter but I have a few other projects I would be concerned on the flaking with.
I love using old jars and containers for storage! You can find amazing things on clearance at stores, yard sales and even goodwill! If you look on freecycle, there are many people that give things away that could be used for storage
I have never heard of freecycle. I think you have may given me a new craft supply resource! Thank you!
Similar question to Lanette’s — is there a glass paint that could substitute for spray paint? I shy away from spray paint due to it’s environmental impact. This is a great project, otherwise!
Beth, you might could try a ceramic craft paint on the glass or even an all surface non spray paint that comes in a can. I looked it up and Colorations has a glass paint that you could do with a brush. It comes in a small bottle and so would probably take a whole one to do a jar but is environmentally friendly. You could also check at the home improvement store and see if those small tins of paint are all surface and use a brush.
I updated the post to reflect the non spray paint alternative and your good question.
Do you think primer would help with the coats and possibly flaking later on? Or have you had good success with painting glass. I know not all paint is good for glass. I am getting ready to start some projects with painting glass and I am not sure what would be needed for the long run.
The primer would be a good idea! The flaking is a definite possibility with wear and tear. When I was moving the Silhoutte letters around I created a few scratches (nothing major but it did happen) but I think they will be fine just sitting on the counter. After your question it made me think about spraying them with some sort of sealer. The Krylon I used said it was good for all surfaces and it worked pretty well, but I would use the primer and only paint something that is more for decorative use like the canisters.
I updated the post to reflect the primer idea!