Crafternoon: Fluoro Jam Jars

This week we've been playing with options for centrepieces. The problem with an event where lots of guests are dining is that you have to put together lots of centrepieces from lots of elements and that can get very expensive, even if you're using pretty cheap elements. Plus of course cheap containers are often either really tasteless or dead plain, which isn't much fun. Of course you can hire, which is what we generally do unless we can't find what we want, but if you're doing your own table dressing (and you're not VAT registered) by the time you've included delivery and collection it can get as expensive as buying it all in.

One of the easiest ways to change the appearance of plain glassware, or tart up things you wouldn't usually use as a vase or candle holder (like our old favourite the jam jar) is to mask off areas and spray paint them. It gives extra interest and a strong pop of colour. Of course you can't magically turn a jar into an expensive vase, but you can make it look fun and cool instead of cheap. This method had the added benefit that with a little elbow grease you can actually wash the paint off and have your plain containers back after the event.

We often test out techniques on jam jars before applying them to our glassware. This week we've had a go at masking off shapes using dot stickers and tape, and we're pretty pleased with the results...

* STEP 1

Apply your masking materials, whether tape, dot stickers or some other sufficiently sticky item.

* STEP 2

Mask off the top of your jar or container - make sure the edge you mask off is nice and even. We like to use duct or electrical tape for this instead of masking tape as it sticks to the glass a bit better and give s a good clean edge.

  

* STEP 3

Get your paint out and spray (outdoors, on a piece of old cardboard). We use a lot of spray paint from Halfords, and particularly love their gold chrome, silver chrome and fluorescent pink.

* STEP 4

Carefully peel off your masking - we used a bit too much paint on this one and ended up with ragged edges. This is one of the reasons a practice run is a good idea....

 

* STEP 5

Enjoy! And continue to experiment...