How To Stain Baby Food & Mason Jars To Store Food + Free Strawberry Shortcake Printable Thank You Tags

When I first stumbled across the idea of staining glass mason jars with a simple mixture of decoupage and food coloring I was intrigued. I dreamed of many uses for these brightly colored, homemade jars.

Then I realized that by placing decoupage inside the jar, it would never really be safe for food storage. Bummer. Google led me to more ideas about glass paint that seemed to produce similar results, but they were more complicated. I wanted a simple solution.

So I sat on the problem for a few days and came up with viable solution – put the glue mixture on the outside so the inside stayed clean. I am a genius. And just like that another project for my daughter’s Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party was born. (See more pictures and projects from the Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party.)

How To Stain Glass Jars For Party Favor Treats

With a house busting at the seams with empty baby food jars (that I refuse to recycle insisting upon creating something wonderful from them like these 4th of July Luminaries and Spooky Fall Treats), finding supplies was as easy as opening the pantry. And the project was so simple that I enlisted the assistance of my almost five year old to assist.

How To Stain Baby Food & Mason Jars To Store Food

Materials:

  • Baby Food Jars (with lids)
  • Glue (Mod Podge or Elmer’s Glue – I used the later)
  • Food  Coloring
  • Sponge Brush
  • Spray paint
  • Old newspaper
  • Sharpee
  • Bakers Twine
  • Tags (Free printables below!) 

Strawberry Shortcake Glass Treat Jars Favors

After washing lids and jars well, it is time to begin. Mix equal parts of glue and water in a small bowl (I used plastic baby food jars for this). Drop in food coloring and mix well until desired shade is reached.

I was going for a pinky/strawberry red, which took quite a few drops. But don’t over to it – slow and steady.

Turning my jar upside down, I poured a small amount of the mixture on the bottom of the jar and used gravity and my sponge brush to encourage it to drip down the sides on the OUTSIDE of the jar.  Brushing down with gentle strokes.

As the jars began to dry I noticed a streaky look, which I did not care for. Since strawberries are bumpy, I elected to sponge the outside of the jars to provide texture. The result was tiny air bubbles captured in the glue that hardened as they dried – a look I really liked.

How To Dye Baby Food Jars

Moving the jars once to avoid them sticking to the runoff glue, I allowed the jars to dry for two days.

OPTIONAL – At this step, many people bake mason jars in the oven to adhere the color more permanently. I skipped this step, and I am glad I did. Most kids ate the M&Ms and recycled the jars. But if you want the color to be more water-resistant, consider baking on a low temperature. (If the jars get wet, the glue/color will run.)

Free Strawberry Shortcake Printable Thank You Tags

During the drying process, I spray painted the lids green and prepared my tags. To create my tags you will need:

  • Paper (cardstock works best, but you can get away with copy paper)
  • A Color Printer
  • A 2 Inch Daisy Punch (my favorite punch of all time)
  • A Hole Punch
  • Bakers Twine (I used pink & white)

Download the Free Strawberry Shortcake Printable Thank You Tags here.

Strawberry Shortcake Thank You Berry Much Tags

After you print your tags, use scissors to trim the page so you can line the image up with your whole punch. Punch out your tags with the Daisy punch and then put holes at the top for the twine.

Once the Berry Jars are finally dry. Add “seeds” with a black Sharpie marker. I did this very haphazardly making dot/lines and loved the final outcome.

Fill the jar with a special treat, attach lid and tag and ta-da – Berry Sweet Strawberry Shortcake Treat Jars.

Using materials I already had at home, my only out-of-pocket expense for this project was a can of green spray paint and clearance red, white and pink M&Ms from Valentine’s Day.

Thrifty and cute!

Please note – I created these printable tags for my own use and decided to share free for personal use only. Please do not sell or distribute my tags in any fashion. If you want to include a link on your blog (I am flattered), please direct them to this page to download the image. Do not host on your site. Thank you for understanding.

Strawberry Shortcake Party Favor

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