Salsa Jar/Pen & Pencil Holder

Ever find yourself with 7 half empty salsa jars in your fridge, that you know you're not going to finish? Well, it's time get crafty and transform those jars into something pretty and useful, like a pen & pencil holder for your desk! I will demonstrate how to decorate by decoupaging with magazine cut outs and tissue paper...

STEP ONE: CLEAN OUT A JAR & PEEL LABEL




Peel the label off as best you can. Don't worry, anything that won't come off can get covered up.

STEP TWO: SUPPLIES!

You will need to pick out a theme for your jar. I usually just pull out the magazines I have kicking around and go from there. I have a bunch of gardening magazines, so that'll be the theme for my jar. I also pulled out some yellow tissue paper to be used for my base layer.



You will also need:
Scissors
Elmer's Glue
Water
Mixing cup
Paint Brush



STEP THREE: GLUE & WATER MIX

Here's where we make our own "Podge". This is the mixture that will glaze over the cut images and tissue paper to adhere them onto the jar and give it a glossy finish.


Squeeze enough glue to just cover up the bottom of the cup. Then add in about 1/4 cup of water. Mix this up well with your brush.

STEP FOUR: FIRST LAYER OF TISSUE

Start by applying a thin layer of glue & water mixture to the jar. Gently place tissue paper on the glue and dab it on with your paint brush.


Make sure you cover the tissue with another thin layer of glue. This will create an interesting "cracked glass" textured look. It looks best to repeat this step a few times to build up some layers of tissue.

STEP FIVE: CUT MAGAZINE IMAGES & GLUE TO JAR



Place your cut images onto the jar in your own collage fashion and brush on a layer of glue.


STEP SIX: FINISH & LET DRY

Finish placing and gluing all of your images. Brush on a final layer of glue and let your jar dry. It helps to speed up the drying process by taking a hair dryer to it.

You are finished! Enjoy your recycled & modified craft that went from salsa container to desk organizer!