If you’re looking for a cosy fall project that doubles as both a craft and a decor piece, this little jar is perfect.
With just a hot glue gun, some paint, and a plain glass jar, you can create a design that looks a lot like stained glass. Once finished, you can pop a tea light or some fairy lights inside to make a beautiful autumn decoration for your home.
What You Need
- Glass jar
- Glue gun
- Yellow, red and brown craft paint
- Whiteboard marker
- Something sharp to fix mistakes with
What to Do
Starting the Project
This jar project is really simple, but I love how it turned out
I used my hot glue gun to make the outline of a little branch with leaves.
To get the shape right, I first drew it on the jar using a whiteboard marker. This made it so much easier to guide the glue, because I didn’t have to freehand the design directly on the glass. The best part about using a whiteboard marker is that it wipes away easily if you make a mistake. With this project it doesn’t matter if the lines show through because you’re going to paint it brown anyway.
Once you have your shape, you can start gluing. The nice thing about glue art on a glas jar is that you can easily fix mistakes using a sharp object.
Some Tips When Gluing
- Don’t rush the glue. Let it dry fully before painting, or else your paintbrush might drag through the glue lines and mess up your design.
- Make sure to hold the jar steady while applying glue. Any wobbles will show once the paint goes on.
Adding the Colour
Once the glue was dry, I went in with some craft paint to fill in the leaves.
I painted one side of each leaf red and the other side yellow, then blended them together in the middle.
Here is how it looks before blending:
And after the blending the first layer will look like this:
The effect it created is so warm and fiery, almost like the leaves are glowing. You might have to do a few layers of this.
In a way, it really does look like stained glass, especially when the light shines through the jar. At first I wasn’t sure if the colours would blend nicely on such a small surface, but it turned out much better than I expected.
Once that was dry, I painted the stem and the outline of the leaves brown, which pulled the whole piece together and made it feel more natural.
The Finished Look
This project really shows that with just a glue gun, some paint, and a little patience, you can create something that feels like stained glass without all the extra work.
The warm reds and yellows make it perfect for fall decor, and adding a tea light or fairy lights inside will bring out the glow even more.
It’s such a lovely way to add a handmade touch to your home decor this season, and I can definitely see myself making more of these in different designs.