DIY Tinted Mason Jars: This Tutorial is Sheer FUN!

Ladies and gents, have you been looking for a diy tinted mason jars tutorial? Good, I was too….I’ve got a little bitty backstory for you. I recently was given a couple of old Mason jars by my aunt and uncle who were busy working on an estate sale. They actually had a couple of crates of them.

I helped myself to 2, but you can probably tell by reading this I wanted more than that (sly grin) but we were packing a lot of other stuff and didn’t have room for a crate of jars.

Did you know that in the old days, some Mason jars were naturally blue or green? I think that was called “Cobalt blue” You can definitely go for that, or you can make them any color you want!

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You too can learn how to stain mason jars permanently that look just like the vintage ones Grandma had!

Just FYI…some of the credit for the instruction I’m giving here goes to this Wiki article. I needed a reference when it came to the times and temperatures for doing it correctly.

Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer, Glue and Finish (32-Ounce), Gloss Finish

DIY Tinted Mason Jars Supplies List

• Your Mason or Ball jar….as many as you want
• Modge Podge
• Food coloring
• Some materials for stirring, like paper bowls, plastic spoons, spatulas, and measuring cups.

Also get some newspaper, and wax paper, for protecting your workspace.

Make sure you’re in close proximity to a sink since this WILL be a messy job! Yes, I am doing this in the bathroom… Why not the kitchen? I’ve discovered that the bathroom light is much more favorable for good photos. Anyway, moving on!

Looking for more mason jar fun? Grab my checklist below and have a handy reference guide to the top 10 mason jar crafts trending today, including color tinting…it’s FREE 😊

Important disclaimer: These will be my FIRST tinted jars…I know what I’ll be doing but still keeping fingers crossed!

How To Stain Mason Jars

Begin with a 3:1 ratio of Mod Podge to water. You will need a little water to mix in as Mod Podge is a little on the thick side and it needs to have a certain consistency when all is said and done. Stir them together. When you have decided on the color you want, then start to add your food coloring a few drops at a time.

I’m an orange junkie, so I’m using red and yellow drops.

🎨 A Guide to Color Combos…🎨
Purple: Red and blue drops
Magenta or fuchsia: Red/blue ratio of 3:1
Turquoise: Blue and green drops
Spring green: Yellow/blue ratio of 5:1

You may need a lot of dye depending on how vibrant you want the color to be. Right here is about 15-20 red drops and 10 yellow drops. It looks “peachy” so I’m going to add a few more 🙂

As I discovered, this takes a lot of dye….If I make any more of these and probably will do fuchsia next – I’ll need more red….but I ended up using what was left of the whole bottle (I started with half-full red and yellow small bottles)

Stir it all together thoroughly, don’t just “swirl” the colors 🙂 It should look opaque, like this:

Try not to get too hung up on the depth of the color shade, as that color is going to change and get DARKER as we let our jars set up!

Pour the Mod Podge/water/dye mixture into the jar…you might need only half of what is in the bowl. It will have a consistency like my FolkArt paints – moderately thick/thin. Turn the jar sideways and gently swirl the mixture around to distribute the color…..keep going until you reach the top.

Now set the jar upside down onto a protected surface – something like aluminum foil or wax paper will do fine. I’m using aluminum foil because I’ve had paint stick to paper, including wax paper. inside a paper plate to catch the drips,

Leave it alone for a few minutes to catch any excess “drippies”.

Turn the jar right side up again and let it set up for about an hour. I also did the same treatment for another small jar. I’m saving my other big one for a different color, e.g. pink. Until I get some more red dye P I still had some excess dyed mixture, which I’m saving in one of those food storage containers.

Well, now we wait…By now your jars should be taking on a transparent color appearance. I checked mine out and they look better than I thought – I worried at first the orange was going to be “just peachy” instead of the true orange I was going for.

Just so you know…it took a little longer before ALL of the mixture had set up and turned that see-thru color….If you have a little bit of excess (especially in the jar bottom where the mixture might settle more) don’t worry; just give it a little more time!

Setting Your Stained Mason Jars Permanently

Now we come to the part in which we put ’em in the oven. Set it to a low temp, like somewhere between 170 and 200 degrees F and let your jars “bake” (set) for about 20 minutes. You may have to remove the top rack to seat them better.

Now you’ve got a BEAUTIFUL perfectly translucent color stained Mason jar (and this works with other glass jars too) suitable for vases, crafts, and other things.

Emphasis on crafts and decorations, as I don’t have full confirmation that this is OK for food/drink items. 

Enjoy!