Antiquing Canning Jars

I had seen this process done on Pinterest and knew I had to try it because I have so many canning jars.  I thought this would be a great way to use them so they are not just sitting on a shelf.  I had read the story "The Christmas Jar" which is about the gift of change that had been collected in a pickle jar. So I thought to paint the jars and give them to the ladies in our 30's group with the challenge to collect their change and find someone who could use the gift at Christmas. 

These jars are my finished product.

Very few ingredients are needed:  Mod Podge - 1 Tablespoon and food coloring - several drops, depends on the color.  I used a 2-to-1 ratio of blue - green and 1 teaspoon of water.  Now the first set of instructions I found said to pour the mixture into the jar and coat the inside. 

 After it dried this is how they turned out.  As you can see,  not good - they are unevenly colored with streaks.

I had to try again, but this time I painted the outside of the jar.  I used a sponge brush and painted on a very thin coat. You do not want to have too much food coloring or again you will see streaks.

Let the paint dry with the jars upside down on paper - this takes about an hour.

Then put wax paper on a cookie sheet and again place jars upside down.

Bake the jars at 200 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes.

I think they look beautiful.

You can see that the one on the left had less color in the mixture.