numbered jars

This project all started with these numbered beauties...

{photo courtesy of Pottery Barn}

I saw them at a Pottery Barn store awhile back when we went to the mall on a rainy day. I could not stop thinking about them (I have a bit of an obsessive personality). I thought I had to have them and was not going to stop until I figured out a way. They were $12 a piece in the store and $39 for all 3 online. We are not in need of anything, but with me staying home, I cannot justify spending $40 on some jars, you know what I mean? Well, with the jars up front in my mind, I went to some yard sales with a good friend and found these treasures for $3 a piece...

So, I spent $9 for 3 jars and knew almost immediately what I would fill them with and where they would go. I had told my sisters and Mom about the jars that I was in love with so I was excited to tell them that I found the same kind of jars for cheap. My sister, Beth informed me that she had glass paint in several colors, one of them being black. Score. The glass paint would have been the expensive part of the project, but I got it for free. I was so excited...

The first thing I did was to find the font I wanted and print the numbers off on printer sticker paper. I cut out the numbers and used the outline sticker as my stencil...

I applied the paint and when I took the stencil off each time, this is what I would get. Yeah, the stencil was not full proof. I had a lot of toothpick scraping to do with each number to get it back in shape. That was the hard part and it took some time. I also dabbed the numbers with a paper towel while they were still wet to give them some texture and make them appear not so perfect...

But eventually, I had my 3 number jars that I had been dreaming about...

I knew that I wanted to fill them with dice, scrabble tiles, and dominoes. Well, I remembered that I had a huge bag of dice in one of my many teacher containers in the basement so I went searching and found them. Score again. Free dice. Then I just used the scrabble tiles that we had from our game that we never have time to play anymore...

I could use some more dice, scrabble tiles and I still don't have dominos but all in good time, right? I had dreamed about them on the mantel in front of the barn picture and I am very pleased with the end result...

So the total cost of the project was $9. It's so fun to see an idea you love and figure out a way to make it yourself. Where this is a will...there is a way.

Please click here and check out these parties I am linking this project to this week. Thanks for visiting. Happy Tuesday!