Make your own Blue Canning Jars...

I can't take credit for this idea, I found it through pinterest. There are quite a few fails on pinterest, but I wanted to give this one a try and was happily surprised with the results. I apologize for the crappy photos, I just can't win lately when it comes to taking pics, but hopefully you can get how great this project is despite the bad photos.

It seems like around here, blue canning jars are getting harder to find and when you do find them they are pricey. I have plenty of old clear canning jars that I use for decor or craft storage, so why not turn them blue! First off, no, these are NOT food safe and you can't fill with water to use as a vase. But you can use them for decoration and craft storage.

It was hit or miss with the recipe, I added too much water to the batch so I had to keep finding more glassware to turn blue. How much modg podge you need depends on how many things you want to create. For one or two jars, take about 2tblspoons modge podge and add just a few drops of water, just to make it a bit more runny. Then add blue, green, and a tiny bit of yellow food coloring to the mix. I only had gel food coloring on hand, but any kind will work. I mixed the ingredients right in one of the jars I was turning blue.

Mix the ingredients well, adjusting the food coloring to the blue green color that you want. Then swirl the mixture all over the jar(hold a lid on with a wash cloth over it, because this can get messy. Wipe off drips that get on the outside. Dump out the excess mixture into the next jar and repeat. When you are done, dump the remaining mixture out. You don't want a big pool of it at the bottom of the jar. The jars will look like this....
When dry they look like this!.... now at this point you can bake them at a low heat for an hour or so, but I really don't see the need for this because it will NOT make them waterproof. I'm not really sure what it would do, but that was in the original instructions. The photo does not do them justice, they really look authentic in real life and I am so pleased with the results.
Now, while we are on the subject of blue canning jars. I want to warn you that their are reproductions out there posing as the old thing. The one woman on pinterest has a set of these reproductions I'm afraid, but she doesn't realize it. About 10 or 12 years Walmart sold a line of blue canning jars that had the glass top and wire bail. There were 3 different sizes I think. The color is a bit darker than the old ones, and they have "Ball" across the front and an eagle on the back. I had several sets of these myself(not sure where they all went!). THere is nothing wrong with these and I don't mind reproductions, BUT I just wanted to warn you all so you don't pay big bucks for what you think is an antique. Here is one of the walmart ones, I have it filled with mini pinecones.
Here is a true antique one... notice the lighter color.
And here are all three side by side... reproduction, my creation with an old jar, and the original old blue jar.

I like the color they add to the upper cupboards...

And they are pretty in the window.
If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I will come back and answer them in the comments.

Have a lovely day,

Tiff