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For me, nothing says summer best than watercolors so I decided the other days to bring a few splashes of color into my white home and brought to life different sized old jars by adding beautiful French watercolor labels to them.
I really love projects like this one and I’m sure you’ll love it too because it is easy to make, it’s inexpensive, you will only need a few ingredients that you might already have in your home and the final results will be just fabulous. Not to mention the multiple ways to use them all over your home – as vases filled with fresh flowers on your favorite tables in the living room, as utensil holder or spice bottles in your kitchen and even as makeup brushes holder in your bathroom. Of course you can also use them on your wedding, or take them to work with you and arrange them on your desk or by the window. Or just give them as presents to someone special, I’m sure they will be highly appreciated! :)
I have to confess that watercolors always give me such a good energy, so I started this project with a really good vibe! Here is what you’ll need:
empty jars ♦ French graphics printed on cardstock paper ♦ scissors ♦ watercolor cakes* ♦ Mod Podge* ♦ brushes ♦ a small recipient with water
Let’s start with the labels first, I’m sure you already recognize the lovely French graphics from Karen/ The Graphics Fairy, it seems like I just cannot get enough of them! :) The graphics were originally available in my Etsy shop but now I’m sharing them for free on Karen’s blog! I’m super excited about the collaboration with Karen, stay tuned for more amazing graphics and projects! :)
So if you want to use the same labels I used, I’ll highlight and share the link at the end of this post.
You can print them on cardstock paper and individually cut every label using your scissors. Regular paper will work too, but it tends to get a little bit curly when applying the watercolors, so I think cardstock paper is a better choice. Of course you can use watercolor paper, but only if you have a great printer machine that will print on this special paper.
I have a lot of pictures to walk you through the whole process, sometimes pictures just speak for themselves, wouldn’t you agree? :)
I used a small brush and a lot of water to ”activate” every color I used, watercolors are by default dry. I temporary placed each label on a jar to give them right from the beginning an arched shape so I will be able to easily apply them on the jars later on.
I used one color for each French label, but you can choose your own watercolor design, if I may say so, with one or two different colors. You can play with shades and colors just by adding more or less water, just be bold and get creative on this part, experiment and have fun, the sky is the limit when it comes to using watercolors.
As you can see in the pictures, I didn’t completely covered the labels with paint, because I wanted to give them more of that watery watercolor charm.
I let them dry completely and really loved the uniqueness of each label!
Then I used Mod Podge to waterproof the labels, this method will sure extend the life of your labels so you can use them for a long long time. I used the same method to waterproof some tags that I used to style a French bouquet and some distressed labels to beautify an enamel milk jug.
Just use your brush and apply a thick uniform layer of Mod Podge on the upper side of your labels. Don’t worry if the French graphics won’t show too well at first, after drying the Mod Podge will become translucent and will only have a protective role. Let them dry completely but be careful where you put them to dry, Mod Podge is a strong adhesive and will definitely act as one when in contact with other surfaces! Remember, you want to apply your labels on some jars, not on your working table! :)
Don’t you just love these amazing colors? I’m already thinking on millions of things to use these beauties on.
For the next step, applying the waterproofed labels on the jars, I used a small brush to apply some more Mod Podge. This time I completely covered the back of the labels with Mod Podge, that will now serve its purpose as adhesive.
If by accident the Mod Podge leaks outside the contour of your labels and onto the jar, now it would be the best time to use a wet paper towel and remove the excess to get a clean and clear look.
Use jars with different sizes and shapes to have more options of arranging and styling them afterwards.
All done! :) Add small roses from the garden and arrange all the beautiful jars in different places around your home.
Rotate their position from time to time for an ever changing beautiful French decor.
And admire them every time you pass by their location! :)
I hope you like my Recycled jars with French watercolor labels project as much as I did and decide to give it a try, the small things will always make such a big difference!
UPDATE:
As part of my new and exciting collaboration with Karen / The Graphics Fairy, I’m gradually making some of my collages and printables available for FREE download on her website.
Click HERE to download the printable I made for this project.
And a little bit of this and that before I go.
First I wanted to tell you that I am super excited that I won the lovely giveaway from Shabby Art Boutique, one of my favorite Shabbilicious blogs of all time. This beautiful GreenGate cup and spoon will soon be a part of my lattes rituals, can’t wait to enjoy them on a regular basis! :)
Another great news is that I will soon (finally) make that leap and migrate this blog – that I call my virtual home – to WordPress. Even if it’s only a virtual moving, there’s a lot of packing and decorating when moving to any new home, as I’m sure you know :) But there is also the excitement of change and the expectations, that fill your heart with joy. I will tell you more about that soon.
Don’t forget to smile,
Diana
*This post contains affiliate links of products I love and recommend. See more of my favorites here.
Love this idea. I love working with old jars. I love the touch of color. Karen over at Graphics Fairy is so awesome.
The jar shapes go so well your lovely colors. Thanks for sharing.
A suggestion: rather than do these individually, keep the sheet as a whole and do watercolour randomly all over the sheet, leaving some white space here and there, drop some nice colour here and there wet in wet for texture and pattern, then cut them out.