Today I’m joining up with some of my blogging friends for an extravaganza of

Mason Jar Christmas Gift Ideas

Each blogger has chosen a different theme and because my niece is having a baby mid January, I thought it would be fun to create a mason jar gift for her.

Since my niece has selected green and pink for her baby girl… that became my color theme for the gift.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do when I got started.  But, in shopping for the gifts to put inside the jar I came across this green rubber bath ducky and knew that it was the key to decorating my mason jar.

Polka dots are a favorite of mine and mommy-to-be loves them too, so I decided that I would create a jar that would double as nursery decor and maybe a safe place to stash a few things away from baby.

My goal was to fill the mason jar up with pretty pink and green items for baby (that would fit in the jar!!) and then decorate it to look Christmasy and be complete without having to gift wrap it.  That was a pretty tall order to fill… but I do have a tendency to create challenges.  It’s all part of the fun.

So now that you know the behind the scenes info… let’s get to work creating a

 

Whimsical Mason Jar Christmas Gift for Baby Girl

 

Supplies

• Quart clear “plain” Ball jar (I’m so excited these are now available.)
• Lid (You can use the one that comes with the jar, but I wanted my lid to be a complete unit as I glued the ducky to jar lid… mine was a close match from a jar of coconut oil, but drink lids are an option too.)
• White or off white chalk paint (not in the photo)
• White acrylic FolkArt paint
• Green Martha Stewart acrylic craft paint (Scottish Highlands)
• Paint brush or sponge brush
• Sponge paint pouncer (often used for stenciling)
• Ducky
• Red chenille stems
• hot/cool glue gun
• Wood ornament
• Glittery press-on jewels
• String of sequins
• Scissors, wire cutter, pencil, ruler, and small paper plates are helpful

 

Instructions

Paint your jar with chalk paint.  I allowed an hour for drying before painting the white acrylic paint.  Then I let those first two coats dry well overnight and the next morning applied a final coat of white acrylic paint.

 

While you have your white paint and brush out, paint your wood ornament.  Mine was pre-painted, so it only needed one coat.

 

While giving the final coat of paint an hour to dry on the mason jar, I prepared to paint the dots by creating a grid.  Using a plain piece of white paper, I measured to create 1″ squares.

The X’s mark the location of the polka dots.

 

In all honesty… this next step didn’t go smashingly well.  In order for my grid to work, I would have needed something like a carbon paper.  Since I didn’t have that… you can see that I wrapped my jar with the grid and eye-balled the spacing using the grid for reference.  It’s not the perfect system… but this is what I did so I’m sharing it.  If you have a better system… please let me know.  I Googled and couldn’t find anything other than a tutorial for applying dots on a wall.  Not quite the same.

Anyway… I made small dots on the jar which were my guides for painting dots.

Check your pencil marks before applying paint.  One of mine was off… because I didn’t double check my work… and yes… it shows.

 

Get your foam pouncer and paint ready.  I actually practiced pouncing dots before I committed to painting them on the jar.  It helps to develop a technique you’re comfortable with… particularly in the amount of the application of your paint.  I ended up twisting my sponge applicator in a circle… sort of spinning it in my finger.  I felt like I got a smoother edge to the dot with that technique.

 

My first dots were applied to the ornament.  It was a great confidence booster.

 

I started creating polka dots on the upper half of the jar.

 

You can see the polka dots are not perfect.  But, they do look good.  I’m working hard at getting over the perfection thing.  It’s not easy.

Yay!  It’s finished and there weren’t any big mess-ups… or little ones either.

 

I thought my tie-on needed a little bling, so I purchased a sheet of these ‘jewels’ at Michael’s in their dollar section. They just stick on and were so easy to apply between and on the polka dots.

 

Now it’s time to dress up the ducky for Christmas.

I decided to give her a pretty red chenille scarf.  Her scarf is three strands braided together with the ends fanned out.  A simple twist around her neck and she’s dressed for the holiday.

 

Next… applying hot glue to the lid and the bottom of the duck…. pushing the two together firmly for a minute and you’re done.

 

Let’s talk about gifts.

I haven’t purchased baby items for a while and I was surprised at the prices.  Is every small item $5.99?  It seems like that was the magic price from Toys R Us to Target.  Thankfully TJ Maxx had some sweet onesies and hat and booty sets for a super great price.

 

Everything would not fit in the jar with all that packaging… so here’s a glimpse sans packaging.

 

To make sure that the items would not get a rumpled, I rolled a few items and took some pink ribbon to tie them in place.  It worked great.

 

The pacifiers and keeper went on the bottom of the jar followed by the onesies and booties.  The hat with the big bow went in last.

 

Finally the lid went on with ducky sitting pretty.

Now to dress up the lid and attach the tie-on.

 

I wrapped the lid with a chenille stem twisted it tightly and trimmed the excess with my wire cutters… twice.

On the bottom chenille stem I attached the tag, which is hung by another chenille stem.

And the space in the middle got a little glitz with the string of red sequins to complement the jewels on the tag.  To secure it I used some glue dots.

 

How would you like to be a new mommy receiving this whimsical mason jar Christmas gift for baby girl?

I hope she likes it.   Regardless… I had a lot of fun dreaming it up… finding all the parts and pieces… and of course creating it.

I’d be delighted if you would pin this image to one or more of your Pinterest boards.

 

And now it’s time for you to grab your cup of tea/coffee/cocoa and start cruising 29 more amazing Mason Jar Christmas Gift Ideas.  The links are below…  PLUS… Don’t miss the giveaway too!

Domestically Speaking – Yesterday on Tuesday – Cupcakes and Crinoline – Inspiration for Moms – Petticoat Junktion – Morena’s Corner – Our Southern Home – 504 Main – Kleinworth & Co. – Major Hoff Takes a Wife – Just Us Four  – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Debbie Doo’s – Refresh Restyle – Kaleidoscope of Colors – Tried & True – Town and Country Living – Stone Gable – Redhead Can Decorate – The Silly Pearl – Uncommon Designs – An Extraordinary Day – Restoration Redoux – Dukes and Duchesses – My Creative Days – Hymns and Verses – It’s Overflowing – The Scrap Shoppe – Simply Kelly Designs – Pet Scribbles 

 

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If you stopped by as you were Mason Jar Christmas Gifts blog hopping….
THANK YOU!
I look forward to ‘meeting’ you and reading your lovely thoughts!