Mini Makeover: Santa Mason Gift Jars

Every year I try to come up with something new and different for what I call our family gifts. These are small gifts that we give to my Dad’s siblings and their families (that we see during the holiday season). I need to make 10-12 of these each year, so it can be a challenge to stay within budget but also give something that’s fun to find under the tree.

Last year I made Reindeer and Christmas tree cookies, but I realised quickly that decorating 60+ cookies is hard work, so this year I have dialed it back and have gone with some Santa Mason Gift Jars with treats inside! Here’s how you can make them too!

What you’ll need:

• White Cardstock preferably 200gsm or thicker
• Black Paper this is 80gsm but cardstock would work just as well
• Gold Spray Paint (or gold paper if you prefer)
• Metallic Red Spray Paint Note: this was gifted to me from Dulux as part of a post I did for them
• Mason Jars in Pint size
• Masking Tape
• Double Sided Tape
• Scissors (or utility knife or ScanNCut machine)

How to:

1. After making sure your mason jars are washed and free of any dirt or grease, get your masking tape ready to tape the tops of your jars closed so you don’t get any paint inside the jar or around the rim (as the lid will have trouble closing). Remove the lids from the jars.
2. First tape across the top of the jars so there are no gaps and then around the rim so that it covers to the lip where the paint will end. Repeat for the number of jars you are doing. I did 12.
3. Now prepare your spray painting area and shake the can as directed to get it ready for painting. Place the jars on a drop sheet bases facing up.
4. Spray paint the jars by keeping the can at least 10-15 cm away from the jar and keep your can moving. It’s better to do lots of light layers of the paint than to get too close and have the paint run. Keep painting until the jar is covered evenly and leave to dry. If you need to, you might want to turn them over once dry and spray around the top where the jar bends in, as it can sometimes get missed when you’re spraying from the other direction. These were touch dry in under 20 minutes.
5. Once completely dry and you’re happy with the paint coverage, you can remove the masking tape. Make sure none has been left behind.
6. Your jars are now ready for the next step. Leave them to one side for a moment.
7. Now it’s time to make the Santa belt buckles. I couldn’t find any gold cardstock so I made my own, here’s how. Start with 200gsm white paper and some gold spray paint.
8. Prepare your safe spray painting area and shake the can as directed. Using some washi tape or masking tape, tape the corners of the cardstock to your dropsheet so it doesn’t fly away or move whilst spraying. Carefully spray the cardstock starting about 20 cm from the paper and then judging the spray before moving in closer. Cover the cardstock in the gold paint and leave to dry fully.
9. Now it’s time to cut the belt buckles out. I used my ScanNCut and a pattern I designed for it, but if you don’t have one you could use a utility knife and a cutting mat. The outside of the buckles are 4.2cm (w) x 3.9cm (h) and the inside cuts are 1cm (w) x 2.5cm (h).
10. I cut 15 so I had some spare. The buckles are now ready to go.
11. Now it’s time to take the black paper and cut the belts. I also used my ScanNCut for this (because it’s new, and fun to use), but you can use scissors for this one. The belts are 27 cm (w) x 2.4cm (h).
12. Now the belts are ready to go too!
13. Pair one belt with one belt buckle making sure you have enough for all of your jars
14. Slide the belt through the belt buckle carefully so that they don’t get damaged. Move the buckle to the middle of the belt
15. Take a small amount of removable double sided tape and add it to the edge of the left hand side of the belt so that it’s facing upwards
16. Now line up your belt buckle and belt with the middle of the mason jar and fix the belt at the back so that it doesn’t move around. Ta-da! Your Santa Mason jars are ready to go!

Thoughts on the project:

These were super fun to make and make a fun gift that people can reuse if they want to. The belts are removable and no paint made it to the inside of the jars so they could be used in the kitchen. I decided not to paint the lids, though you could paint them white for a Santa beard look or even in gold to match the belts. I got my inspiration from this post I found on Pinterest.

I’ve added treats to mine for the family but these would also be a great way to gift a gift card, just add some glitter to the inside and shake it up before adding the gift card, if you wanted to make it extra special. I’m so happy with how they’ve turned out. They will look so cute under the tree on Christmas Day.

They didn’t take very long to make and would be even quicker if I was just making one or two. I think they would also make great teacher gifts for the end of the year, as it can be easily turned into a pencil holder once the silly season is over.

Do you do family gifts? What would you put in one of these Santa Mason Gift Jars?

If you do try this, I’d love to see a photo or hear about how it went! Tweet me your pics at: @danniellecresp or instagram me at: @dannielle with the hashtag: #styleforahappyhome