Distressed Mason Jars

It's day one of my SUMMER vacation and I'm not letting any grass grow under my feet.  I finally had time to craft today! Since going back to work full-time, I just don't have the free hours that I used to have.

My mantel gets a work out, especially starting in the fall and going through St. Patrick's Day.  After St. Patrick's Day there's not much change going on, and I'm okay with that.  However, now that I'm on summer break I wanted to change it up a bit.

I headed over to Pinterest and found this inspiration, which can be found at this website.

While I like the 5 jars and 5 different colors I opted for 3 jars in gradient colors.  Here are the materials I bought at Hobby Lobby.

Silk fern.  The retail price is $22, so I used my coupon on this item.

 Three acrylic paints

Mason jars

 

I started by painting on one coat.  Side note:  Start painting on the bottom (but not the very bottom) and move to the top.  I started from the top on my first one and it was a bit awkward.  With just one coat, the paint was a bit streaky so I added a second coat and it looked great.  Then, using the advice from the blog post I linked, I used a nail file to do the distressing.  Super easy!

I cut a few sprigs of the fern for each jar.  I had anticipated using more in each jar, but it was too much.

Here they are on the mantel, however my "new" mantel isn't complete.  I'll post pictures of that once it's finished.  I still have to hunt down a few finishing touches.