Hello friends! It’s September so I guess it’s acceptable to talk pumpkins now. I made these darling little DIY Jack o’Lanterns using apple juice bottles and wanted to show you how easy they were to make (and, of course, inexpensive) so you could make your own!
These cute little jars are Martinelli’s brand apple juice bottles. You will also need Mod Podge and orange food coloring.
Measure out 2 Tablespoons of Mod Podge and 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of water in each jar.
Add orange food coloring until you get your desired color. The only orange food coloring I had on hand was a lighter shade so I actually used 30 drops.
Place the cap back on the jar and shake until the color is uniform all around the jar. If you don’t like the color, add more food coloring. If the mixture is not loose enough, add more water. Try to get it to the consistency of pancake syrup.
Turn the jars upside down to allow the excess mixture to pour out and dry.
(You see the extra mixture in the cups? You can reuse that to make more colored jars!)
Here’s where the magic happens…
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees . Place the bottles on a tray and heat in the oven for 45 minutes until the bottles are transparent.
Is this not the coolest thing ever? Aren’t they pretty? I have mentioned this before, but orange is my favorite color.
This is where I’ll let you be creative…
I have a Cricut and decided to make jack o’lantern faces on my jars. You could make them without faces. You also have the option to turn the jars around and use them without the faces so they look just like pumpkins.
For regular pumpkins, make the ribbons green and the candle brown like a stem.
I printed three different faces with my Cricut and transferred them to the jars.
If you do not have a Cricut, you can draw the faces on with a permanent marker or paint pen or get scrapbook stickers at the craft store.
I finished my jars by wrapping twine around the tops to cover the area where the lid screwed on.
I made a bow using different ribbon that I had and topped it with a little raffia. I tied a black ribbon around the neck of the jar and then gathered the ribbon/raffia and tied a knot in the middle to make a bow. Once it was tied on the jar, I snipped the ends slightly to make them them uniform.
I bought a small bag of sand at the Dollar Tree and filled one of the jars with the sand. The bag almost filled up the entire jar.
After I filled the first pumpkin with sand, my mom came over and suggested using corn for a more Fall feel. Great idea! I tried it and liked it.
For the last pumpkin, I filled it with rice.
Did you see the books I used as props? These were also found at Dollar Tree. They’re actually boxes that you can store things in.
I hope you give these a try! I had so much fun making these and seeing the transformation of the color once I heated them in the oven. Remember…if you do try them, please send me a picture! You can share it here or on my Facebook Page!
Thank you so much for visiting Mulch and Paint today! Happy Crafting!
Please PIN this for later!!! Thank you!
Those pumpkins scream fall. And it is a project Miss Jo and I can do. Well, knowing her she will do it and I will ooh and ahhh! ********************************************************
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
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Thank you so much!!! ~Kristi
Oh my golly this is so clever and so adorable! I would never thought to have done this or try it really but you made it look easy! Hope you will share it on the Farmhouse Friday Link Party tomorrow. Pinned!
Thanks Cindy! Hey–if I can do it, it really is easy! Is it Thursday already??? I will definitely be stopping by your Farmhouse Friday Link Party tomorrow. Thank you for the invite! ~Kristi
Thank you so much for sharing this at Farmhouse Friday! We’re featuring you at this week’s party!
How exciting! Thank you so much Michelle for the feature and I appreciate you co-hosting Farmhouse Friday! Hope you have a great weekend! ~Kristi
These are. sooo cute … I want to try them right now! I do have a couple questions first, though. I’m having a bit of trouble determining the size of the jars you used! Are they *minis* or larger? Also, does one type of ModPodge work better than another? I have several ~ matte, gloss, etc. ~ on hand, and want to be sure I get the same effect when heating mine! If they are a smaller size, they would make great “favors” when parties are “the norm” again! Thanks for sharing these pumpkins ~ I love that they’re quite unique, yet easy to do!
Kathleen–I am so glad you liked these! I used the Martinelli’s 10 ounce apple juice glass jars. I think this craft would work great with baby food jars, too. (It might be worth eating the tapioca or apple sauce yourself to use them!) I do not think the type of mod podge would make a difference. I used matte because that’s what I had. Yes, they are very easy to do and you can be creative to put your own spin on them. I hope you’ll give these a try! Happy Crafting! (and please share photos on my Facebook page when you make them–I want to see how they turned out!) Have a great day and thank you for stopping by Mulch and Paint! ~Kristi
These little pumpkin jars are just adorable. What a smart hack to paint them on the inside, its easier to do and will last longer. Love your ideas.
Thank you so much Leanna! I enjoy linking up with you on Waste Not Wednesdays…thanks for being a great host! https://prettydiyhome.com/category/blog/
So creative, I love these adorable little pumpkins!
Thank you so much Sarah! You have just made my day! I am a big fan of thediymommy.com and enjoy all of the great ideas you share. I appreciate you stopping by Mulch and Paint! ~Kristi