It’s that time of year again, when our family heads to the coast of Lake Michigan, the Warren Dunes to be exact, for a day of fun in the sun (and lots of sand) at the beach. When I talked about 5 tips for choosing a vacation home at a camping resort, I left out one tip (albeit a very personal one) that it would absolutely, positively, without question have to be within walking distance of the shores of big, big beach!!
Lake Michigan just happens to qualify as the closest big, big beach, but I would leave it open to almost any beach or shoreline in the world (big or small, I’m not as picky as I sound) if I could, because the bottom line is…
I HEART THE BEACH!!
What do I love about the beach…hmmm?
Sand on my feet, rushing waves, seagulls screeching, children laughing, finding shells along the shore…
Here is a coastal inspired DIY project using decorative fisherman netting and left over jars.
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. (See full disclosure here.)
Supplies:
Jars, colored or plain. (I colored some of my own and also used some of these jars.)
Hemp twine
Scissors
Toothpicks
Colored jars, or not
I always have plenty of leftover jars from spaghetti sauce, pickles or salsa. I just can’t toss ’em.
To color some of them, I used this tutorial by lillyshop.com: How to make colored mason jars.
If you want colored jars for outside use, follow this tutorial from curbly.com: DIY (waterproof) stained bottles.
Don’t want to color your own jars???? I also used some blue mason jars, bought from the store.
To color the greenish/ blue jars, I used the first technique with food coloring in the color teal, but I added a bit more blue then the food coloring directions on the food coloring box called for.
Before you begin, read the label of your glue to check how long of an open time you have and how long it takes to dry before handling. If you do not use the E6000, try to get a glue with a 2-5 minute open time, that dries crystal clear and that works on glass and you should be fine.
Also, I mention using toothpicks. I used the toothpicks to hold the netting or hemp twine in place whenever needed for while the glue was setting. This helped to keep my fingers from getting too sticky (most of the time.) I also used them to touch up any spots that needed just a tad more glue.
Step 1: Cut the fisheman netting to size, leaving extra for overlap. The fisherman netting is more stretchy going one way, so I cut most of the netting so that the stretchy side went up and down along the jars. A few of the jars had netting going the other way, and that worked fine, too.
Step 2: Run a glue line, or glue dollops along one side of the jar, and then wrap netting over and let excess hang over the opposite side for weight. Dab netting into place and let dry 1 hour.
Step 3: Trim off excess netting on glued piece and then apply another line of glue (or dollops) along the same spot and wrap the second side of netting. Dab into place and let dry at least 1 hour.
Step 4: Trim off excess netting when dry so the glue seam looks like this.
(This photo shows the rim wrapped already, but that is the next step —->)
Step 5: Cut a piece of hemp twine (it helps to cut the ends on an angle), glue one end to the rim of the jar, let the glue set for a few minutes, add glue lines along the rim of the jar; and then wrap the twine around the rim. Snip off excess with an angle cut, and then glue down to rim of jar.
Step 5: Trim off excess netting on the top of the jar and then trim off the excess netting on the bottom of the jar, leaving just enough to wrap and glue around the bottom of the jar.
Once glue is dry, place the jar right side up on a table and if any of those netting nubbies are getting in the way of the jar being stable, then snip off the nubbies that seem to be sticking out.
Just say no to netting nubbies:p !!
The glue should dry overnight to cure for best results, but other than that, I was ready to add some beach to my kitchen area shelving.
I added sand or shells in some of the jars. I added candles to a few, as well. Inside or out, the beachy jars have made my day while I do a count down until we leave for the shore.
So, are you planning to get your toes in the sand anytime soon?
Thanks for stopping by ~ Amy
Linking up at:
Funky JunkInteriors/ Party Junk
Faux fishing buoys made from bottles
Anne says
Gorgeous project Amy! Pinned!!!
Feral Turtle says
This is such an excellent idea Amy. One of my good friends has an east coast beach themed bathroom. This would make the perfect Christmas gift for her. I pinned this one in hopes that I remember to make a few when the snow flies. oops….I said the S-word when you are talking about sand. BTW, I hope you have a wonderful time at the beach! Maybe I will stowaway in your car…..I travel well with minimal bathroom stops…..
Amy says
Minimal bathroom stops?? Hysterical!! So glad you like the jars and how I wish you could come along to the dunes!!
Shanna Gilbert says
I loved how these turned out Amy! Pinned!
chris aka monkey says
love love love them xx
Amy says
Thank you so much, Chris. So happy that you like them:)
Bliss says
Love ’em, pinned ’em.
Amy says
Thank you, Bliss!!
Mel says
the light would reflect beautifully in those ones with the candles. Absolutely gorgeous as usual Amy.
Dee says
Saw this in the FB group Bloggertunities and I fell in love with it. So perfect! Love it.
Following you now!!
Dee
http://www.thecsiproject.com
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces says
These are really wonderful! Hopped over from Hometalk…you did a beautiful job with these…thanks for sharing the tutorial! Pinning!
JaneEllen says
I am such a nit wit, when I’ve seen these kind of jars, lanterns, I never thought of using the fishermen’s netting. So good to know HL has it. Was just there other day. Your tutorial is wonderful and makes me think I just might be able to do this. I have several of the blue tinted jars just sitting so they’ll be the ones. So glad to have found your blog. Great project. Will look good on my shutter shelf in beachy/cottage living room. Saved this post so don’t forget it. Happy summer days.
Danni@SiloHillFarm says
Still catching up! I love all things beachy and these are so darn cute!
Laurie@ Vin'yet Etc. says
So amazing!!! I adore this! Where do you get your jute or hemp netting?
Jane says
These are genuinely pretty.
Amy says
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment, Jane!
Natasha says
These are very cool! They’d be perfect for us since we currently live in Hawaii. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier!
Amy says
Oh to live in Hawaii!! That is a coastal dream come true. Thanks so much for stopping by here, as well, Natasha!! Have a great night ~ Amy
VintageBeachgirl says
Hi Amy, I followed a link from my fave site, ‘Knock-Off Decor’, and want to thank you for such a simple, clever idea. I’m sitting here on the porch at our beach cottage listening to the waves hit the shore, (about 1-1/2 blocks from here), as I write this. As you said, I have always and still do love it here batter than anywhere I’ve been. The Gulf is beautiful this time of year, quiet with all the vacationers gone home since school started, I wish you could see how lovely our little corner of paradise is. I’m looking across the porch at a little yellow tea cart that holds several blue mason jars, a couple I painted with some blue glass paint years ago, it was sort of complicated and not inexpensive so I’m anxious to see your food coloring method, sounds good to me! Thanks so much for sharing this great idea, I think my neighbor may have some netting she took down off her porch recently, bet she’d share if I made her a jar or two…… I’ll wait and ask tomorrow, since they got in only this evening from parts north. Hope you thoroughly enjoyed your big, big beach time recently you made it sound like such a fun time for you and yours!
Take care and thanks again for sharing such a sweet project! VBg
Amy says
It’s starting to cool off up here in Chicagoland, but being able to live vicariously through someone like you, VBg, who really gets to experience coastal living at it best, is a delight! I would give most anything to be able to hear the waves hit the shore while sitting on my very own porch.
We did enjoy or beach time, for sure. Lake Michigan sure ain’t no ocean, but boy, it’s a wonderful alternative when you live in the middle of corn fields and prairie, LOL.
Good luck on painting the jars. Don’t fret over any small imperfections, once the paint is fully dry and you put the netting on, it will appear like vintage painted glass that has aged.
Drop me a line if you have any questions. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment and share! Amy
Sarah Mac says
I saw these on Dannis post and thought they looked great so I popped over to take a look at how to make them. They really are stunning and look so simple, I’m going to have to try it!
Amy says
If I had my way, I’d drape fishermen’s netting over everything, lol. Thanks so much for stopping by, Sarah, and have fun if you make some!!-Amy