Autumn has just arrived and with it comes the beautiful multicolor leaves and crisp breeze. The natural beauty, festivals and chilly nights bring a bewitching whimsical atmosphere of magic. This issue’s DIY will capture the magic of the season with a lighthearted craft.
A fairy jar is a fun and enchanting gift for a child as a night light or for an adult as a quirky piece of room décor. What is amazing about this project is the versatility of decoration ideas. I am making an autumn inspired jar, but you can make a summer fairy jar with fake moss on the sides and little mushrooms or a winter jar with glitter snow and fake pine cones. The possibilities are endless!
Materials Needed:
• A mason jar
• Mod Podge or Elmer’s Liquid Glue (I’m using Elmer’s Glue)
• Scotch Super Glue
• A sheet or two of white tissue paper
• Glitter in the color of your choice (I’m using white and gold)
• A tool of twine
• A paint brush
• A pair of scissors
• Silhouette of a fairy or a premade fairy cutout
• Cardboard (optional if you want to make your own fairy and not use a premade cutout)
• Floral decorations/embellishments of your choice
• Decorative string lights or a battery operated candle
How to Make the Fairy (Optional to Make Fairy)
Step One: Find a silhouette of a fairy online that you like.
Step Two: Print out the image to a size that would be appropriate for your jar.
Step Three: Cut the outline of the fairy out and glue it to your cardboard and let it dry. Only use a light layer of glue so that the fairy won’t rip.
Step Four: Cut the cardboard to match the shape of your fairy. This can be quite challenging when you get to the small details, so I recommend using a pin to poke a few holes inside of the fairy’s wings.
Step Five: Lightly bend the fairy’s body to match the curve of the jar and then apply the scotch super glue to the back.
Step Six: Glue the fairy to the inside of the jar. If your jar has a side with words engraved on it, I would place the fairy on the opposite end.
*If you chose to buy a pre-cut out fairy, you can find it online or in most craft stores. If so, then lightly bend the fairy and glue it to the inside of the jar as you would if you made the fairy.
Decorating the Jar
Now that your fairy is glued to the inside of their new home, you can decorate the outside with tissue paper, glitter and other decorations.
Step One: Take your paintbrush and apply a layer of either Mod Podge or Elmer’s Glue to the outside of the jar, including the bottom. When applying on the glue make sure that you apply on a thin layer to avoid any rips or holes in the tissue paper. You will also want to keep the lid on for this step.
Step Two: Once the jar has been completely covered with glue or mod podge, take one layer of the tissue paper and start wrapping it around the jar. Don’t worry if you have wrinkles, they add texture to the jar. Also, if you have a few holes, you can cover that with glitter later or bits of tissue paper. However, avoid putting on more than two layers of tissue paper because the more you put on, the less visible your fairy will be.
Step Three: Cut the extra tissue paper off and start applying glue to the bottom of the jar, then fold the paper over until the bottom is totally covered.
Step Four: Once the jar is fully covered with the tissue paper, start applying on glue to where you would like your glitter to be. I wanted my jar to look like it was oozing out magic, so I put a heavy amount of glue on the top and let the glue drip to create more texture. White glitter with heavy glue would make it look like snow.
Keep in mind that the more glitter that you use, the less visible your fairy will be, so I suggest putting the most glitter around the rim of the jar or the bottom.
Step Five: Tie some twine around the rim of the lid and tie it into a bow.
Step Six: Time for the floral decorations! You can decorate your jar with whatever flowers or leaves that you want. However, for this step use the super glue to secure your decorations in place.
Step Seven: Put your battery powered candle or string lights inside the jar. I am using string lights for my fairy jar to give off more light, but you can always use the candle to give off the effect of the fairy’s glow. You don’t have to glue or secure the lights or candles in place because you will want to change the batteries later.
This DIY is for the autumn season, but you can capture the beauty of all the seasons by simply changing the decorations. The holidays are just around the corner, so this could be the perfect craft project for the kids during the season. For adults, this project could set a mystical atmosphere for a party or for everyday use.
