It seems to never fail. May hits and suddenly I need to start buying all kinds of gifts! There’s Mother’s Day, graduations, wedding showers, baby showers, and all kinds of other celebrations. I like to give gifts with personality! So for all of my gift giving needs this month I’m giving Mason Jar Succulents! (No worries seniors, you’ll be getting more than a plant!)
What you need…
- Mason Jars (I used ½ pint)
- Chalk Paint (I used Americana Décor)
- Chalk Paint Wax (also Americana Décor)
- Fine grit sand paper
- Succulents
- Potting Soil
Chalk paint is a great thing! No need to sand or prime your surface before painting. Less work? I was a fan before I even tried it. Shake your container of paint really well before you open it so that it’s all nice and mixed. I cleaned my jars before I started painting because half of them felt oddly greasy. I painted thin layers on my jars and sanded in between. If your layer is too thick the brush strokes will be more visible. It took about 30 minutes for each coat to dry. I waited an hour or two before sanding just to make sure the paint was fully dry. Don’t be scared if the sanding takes some of your paint off. They’re supposed to be distressed looking!
It took about 3 coats to get my jars looking the way I wanted. Once all 3 coats of my paint were dried I sanded a little harder to give some of them more distressed look. This works best on the jars with designs, but looks great on plain jars too. It will take a little practice to see how hard and how much you need to sand to get the look you like.
Once your jars are all painted and dry, brush on a coat of wax. This helps keep the paint from chipping off once you’re done distressing. I let my wax dry overnight. Now that your jars are all painted and pretty it’s time to plant! I purchased a selection of succulents from a hardware store. Depending on the size of the plants I was able to get 2-3 plants per jar. You’ll want to pour in some potting soil and then loosen the dirt around the roots of your plant a little before you plant them. I might be a bit biased, but they’re just so cute once you’re done!
