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DIY Mason Jars tinted with Alcohol Inks and Martha Stewart Glass Paints

  After looking through countless websites showing various ways of tinting mason jars, I still never found what I was looking for. I wanted a way of tinting a mason jar on the INSIDE. I loved the feel of smooth shiny glass and didn't want to lose that. I also wanted a way to have the inside functional. None of the three craft stores  in my area carry the 'go to' classic glass paint anymore called Pebeo Vitrea 160. Well I have come up with some solutions. Keep reading and I'll show you a few options for tinting mason jars.


Alcohol Ink
  This works really well and gives a nearly streak-less finish. All you need to do is squirt some on the inside, then mix 1/3 amount of Alcohol Ink Blending solution.


Swirl it around....with the ink mixture at tthe bottom flip it slowly upside down while continually turning. DON'T turn it right-side up after the ink flows down and out the mouth of the jar. It will pool, and run and cause drops to form down the sides.  Keep in mind it dries fairly quickly.

The one problem I have with this technique is that the inside isn't completely waterproof. You'll have to coat it with an acrylic sealer such as  Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze Spray... NOT to be confused with Triple Thick brush on acrylic by Deco Art. I do like the way it looks. As you can see the alcohol ink  tints the glass very well and gives a nice color saturation.


Martha Stewart Glass Paint

  Well I was super disappointed with the glass paint at first. I wanted it to end up like the alcohol ink stained jars. I wanted the look of colored glass but instead it look like I just painted it.  I followed the instructional video that was directly from Martha Stewart Crafts site. It called for drizzling the Liquid Fill Transparent Glass Paint on the outside of the bottle. That's just what I did. I then let it dry. It came out awful. It had bubbles in the paint and felt sticky, very tacky and  nothing like glass.


  Next I tried using the Gloss Transparent Glass Paint instead of the Liquid Fill. I mixed the glass paint with something called "liquid fill medium" at a half and half ratio. It basically is supposed to turn the glass paint into the liquid fill. But it didn't really do that. It created a viscosity that was a little  different. This time however, the color turned out much better. It didn't dry to a transparent finish however. Instead it ended up with a frosted finish. I still was very pleased with the result. This was much better then my first attempt at 'staining' the jar with the liquid fill.

 

The painted inside is washable but not waterproof. 
Keeping the jar filled with water will cause the paint inside to bubble and peel. 
If you're looking for a waterproof alternative you may want to stain the outside of the glass.
Then, try spraying on a clear coating of Krylon Triple Thick Glaze.

This will give the super glossy appearance of glass though 
it won't have the smooth "feel" of glass.
 
Please feel free to comment with any suggestions or ideas!