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DIY Decoupaged Vintage Apothecary Glass Jars

I’ve tried my hand at decoupaging galvanized metal, wood, and plastic but until now I’ve never tried Mod Podge on glass. Today, I’ll show you how easy it is to take cheap spice jars and make them look like vintage apothecary jars.

diy decoupaged vintage label jars

Last month, I ventured up to Asheville, North Carolina in search of antique stores in the area. Thank you to those on Facebook and Twitter that clued me in to The Antique Tobacco Barn.

The moment I walked in the door, I’m pretty sure I heard angels singing. ***Cue the choir***

antique store in asheville

I had one hour to power shop my way through 70,000 square feet of antique-lovers paradise to find accessories for our guest bathroom. Give a girl with shopping ADD an hour in a massive antique store and you come out of there with nothing…nada…not a single thing to accessorize the bathroom.

Since I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to make something of my own.

I love anything to do with vintage advertising so I did a Google image search for “printable vintage pharmacy labels” and found these cute and colorful vintage apothecary labels made by Cathe of Just Something I Made. There are 14 different style of labels to choose from.

Update (01/2019): The blog I got the label printables from no longer has them on her site. Luckily, I found some pretty vintage jar labels from Knick of Time you can use instead. Click this link to download her free printable. I also wanted to let you that I’ve used the jars for over 5 years and the labels are holding up well!

 

I had a sheet of the labels printed out at Kinko’s on matte photo paper for $0.75. Since it’s printed with laser ink, you won’t have to worry about the ink bleeding when using Mod Podge. The colors were a little off, but I think that had to do with their printers and not the labels.

supplies for decoupaged vintage label jars

 

I found the spice jars, 4 for $6.00, at Wal-Mart.

How to make decoupaged vintage apothecary glass jars:

Start by washing the jars and wiping them down with a little alcohol.

Put a thin layer of Mod Podge on the back of the label. The tweezers help to keep the Mod Podge off your hands and on the label.

how to decoupage on glass

 

Lay the label on the jar and smooth out the wrinkles with the back of a spoon.

decoupage on glass

Then, put a thin layer of Mod Podge on the front of the label.

mod podge on glass

Any excess can be cleaned up with a damp Q-Tip. Once the glue dries, you can scrape off the excess with your fingernail.

decoupaged vintage apothecary jars

As much as I try not to say easy peasy, this project does get filed into the easy peasy category.

How to use Mod Podge to decoupage on glass

 

And since it costs less than a few dollars per jar, it also gets filed into the pretty-darn-cheap category.

decoupage labels on spice jars

So, I hope this project inspires you to make some easy-peasy-and-pretty-darn-cheap apothecary jars yourself. Please let me know if you do!

You can see where I used the jars in the vintage-inspired bathroom reveal here.

guest bathroom with turquoise mirror

 

Tricia signature

Got Mod Podge? Here are some more projects.

 

DIY South Carolina Map Art- State Pride Tour

DIY South Carolina Map Art- State Pride Tour

Easy Makeup Organization Using Fabric-Covered Tin Cans

Easy Makeup Organization Using Fabric-Covered Tin Cans

Decoupaged Magnetic Map Tray

Decoupaged Magnetic Map Tray

DIY Decoupaged Vintage Apothecary Glass Jars

DIY Decoupaged Vintage Apothecary Glass Jars

How to make monogrammed and decoupaged art.

Double-Duty DIY: Hide the Doorbell with Monogrammed Art

Mod Podge Map Clock Tutorial {More Mod Podge Maps and a Moodboard}

Mod Podge Map Clock Tutorial {More Mod Podge Maps and a Moodboard}

Decoupaged Map Crate {Mod Podge Madness}

Decoupaged Map Crate {Mod Podge Madness}

Eleven Inspiring Ideas For Using Maps and Mod Podge

Eleven Inspiring Ideas For Using Maps and Mod Podge

{Mod Podge Madness}: How to Decoupage a Galvanized Pail With Fabric

{Mod Podge Madness}: How to Decoupage a Galvanized Pail With Fabric

Burlap jewelry holder with crystal knobs. Use upside down cup pulls to hold earrings and bracelets.

Tutorial for a Burlap and Crystal Jewelry Holder


Thanks so much for featuring my project, Setting for Four!

 

 

 

 

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  2. Since I seem to have fascination for glass your jars caught my eye right away. Just happen to have some pretty apothecary jars found at thrift stores, yeahoo. Love labels you used, make your jars look so vintage. Great to have on shelf in bathroom or kitchen.
    Your jars are wonderful. Hope you have a wonderful week

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Jane! You got lucky finding the jars at the thrift store. Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you have a great week too!

      Reply

  4. Hi,

    this is beautiful! I’ve pinned it, I will sure make it.
    I didn’t know what mod podge was. When I need to glue paper on glass, I use milk. It’s in my kitchen, works perfectly, cheap, and green 😀

    Have a beautiful day,
    Marie-Ange, Europe

    Reply

  8. Super cute! Thanks for the printables, as well. That looks like a place I could get lost in for hours if I went, and my husband wouldn’t have a paycheck when I dug myself out. 🙂
    Visiting from That DIY Party.
    Cheers!
    Jodi
    Second Wind of Texas

    Reply

    • You’re welcome, Jodi! Yes, my husband is so lucky that I can’t make my mind up when I shop. I have a feeling he won’t be so lucky next time! Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  17. Angels singing! I so know what you mean! And with regards spending an hour and getting nothing amongst lots of “somethings”, I know what you mean there too! You are very talented with your jars. Love your blog. 😀

    Reply

    • Thanks, Nancy! Graphics Fairy had some cute pharmacy labels, too. Your Mod Podge Mother’s Day vases were so cute I had to get my decoupage fix. 🙂

      Reply

    • You’re welcome, Sonya! I’m pretty convinced that Mod Podge is the 8th wonder of the world. You can use it on about anything it seems. 🙂

      Reply

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