DIY Upcycled Farmhouse Jar Vases

What do you do with those leftover glass jars when you can’t recycle them?  Make them into easy DIY upcycled Farmhouse vases!

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I have too many glass jars in my recycling bin! 

Last year, they stopped recycling glass in our area because shipping it to Atlanta, GA, was too costly. So the bins just disappeared one day at the recycling center. 

This is a big problem for me because not only are my bins full at home, but I just can’t bring myself to throw anything recyclable away. So, during this time at home, I have challenged myself to upcycle as many of the jars I have into something pretty and useful. 

With the purchase of a few ribbons from Hobby Lobby, I created two farmhouse-style vases from old spaghetti jars.

To start this project and a few others simultaneously, I first had to remove the labels and sticky residue from the jars. This proved to be much more of a challenge than I was expecting.

Soaking the jars in hot soapy dish water was enough to get the labels off each jar.  But the sticky residue left behind gave me some trouble.  At first, I tried all of the tips I have used before to remove labels, including acetone, rubbing alcohol, baking soda and oil, a scrub brush, vinegar, and multiple soaks in hot soapy water.  I could not get this residue off, no matter what I kept trying.  It was a tough one this time around.

I finally drove to the store, put on a mask, and looked for either Goo Gone or Goof Off.  I felt lucky to find a spray bottle of Goof Off.

It wasn’t until afterwards that I remembered that WD-40 would have worked just as well and we probably have some in the garage.  I will remember that next time.

After several applications of the Goof Off spray AND scrubbing and soaking the jars again, I was finally able to remove all of the residue. A friend told me I was going to way too much trouble just to save a glass jar, and I totally agree, but once you are dedicated to a task, you have to complete it.

Decorating the jars took a lot less time and was more satisfying than getting the sticky residue off the jars.

Let me back up for a minute and restart at the beginning and where this project got started.

This project was inspired by a really cool spool of decorative ribbon I saw at Hobby Lobby last year, before the store was shut down during the quarantine. 

It is a cut roll of wire ribbon similar to chicken wire but in a roll form. I was crazy about it the minute I saw it, but I had no idea what to make with it, so I didn’t buy it then.

Don’t you hate when you do that!

The rolls were not labeled with an actual name so I just called it chicken wire ribbon. 

Once the stores reopened, I went back to get both colors of the chicken wire ribbon, both silver and gold, along with another roll of decorative ribbon that caught my eye.

For this project, I also used Mod Podge in Matte finish, scotch tape, and wire cutters.

For the first jar, I cut a strip of the pretty decorative ribbon to wrap around the outside.  I secured it to the jar using Mod Podge on the glass to one end of the ribbon, overlapped the other over that, and applied Mod Podge between the layers and to the edges of the top layer. 

To hold the ribbon place while the Mod Podge dried, I secured it with a couple of pieces of scotch tape and allowed it to set overnight.

This chicken wire ribbon is one the coolest things I have found lately.

The same steps were repeated for the second jar, using the white denim ribbon and the silver chicken wire ribbon.

The chicken wire ribbon was very easy to attach to the jar without using glue. For each jar, I measured the length needed and cut the chicken wire ribbon with wire cutters.

Pulling the wire ribbon tightly around the jar, I overlapped and twisted the cut ends around the open loops of the chicken wire to hold it in place. I suggest wearing gloves for this part because the ends of the wires are sharp, but it is not necessary to get the task done.

The gold chicken wire ribbon was a perfect addition to the jar. The decorative floral ribbon with gold accents and the silver chicken wire ribbon completed the ideal farmhouse look over the white denim ribbon.

My favorite is the white denim ribbon with the silver chicken wire ribbon.  It just makes a farmhouse statement with these rustic accents.

The last thing was to fill each jar with decorative floral stems and display them.

To finish off the decoration of each jar, just add a strip of jute twine around the top to hide the grooves. This can easily be removed or eliminated if you prefer to use the jar for storage instead of as a vase.

I don’t usually make anything farmhouse-style for my home because I live in a modern home, but when you create a project using chicken wire ribbon, it will be farmhouse-style no matter what. I am just embracing it for this project and really enjoying the look of the upcycled farmhouse vases.

Hugs,

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Below are even more creative projects for you to enjoy:

Fall Decorated Chicken Wire Frame

Chicken Wire Pumpkins