Mother’s Day Vanity Jars

Mother’s Day is coming up, which is a bit of a sad time for me. I’m not sad because I don’t like being a mom or celebrating Mother’s Day. It’s because I lost my mom to leukemia when I was 16 years old. Her passing was years ago, but it still feels like yesterday and brings tears to my eyes. I miss her.

Every Mother’s Day, I always think about what we would have done and the things I would have given to her. She was a crafter at heart and appreciated handmade things. I have fond memories of walking through countless craft fairs with her and coming home with our new treasures. So of course, a handmade gift is always at the top of my gift list to give and receive.

Besides being a crafter, my mom was a fashionista and beauty maven. In fact, when my parents renovated their home, they built a huge vanity where she could put on her makeup and do her hair: she never left the house undone and was always put together. She was one of those moms that looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine and would never be caught in a pair of sweatpants. 

Since my mother liked to make herself look good, I think she would have loved to a Mother’s Day Vanity Jar. This jar would be great to store make-up brushes, cotton balls, cotton pads, nail polish, and more. I know she would have proudly displayed it on her bathroom vanity.

Mother’s Day Vanity Jar

Supplies:

• 2 glass jars
• make-up brushes
• burlap/lace ribbon
• lace doily
• spray adhesive (optional)
• clear gel tacky glue
• paper bags (optional)
• small wooden heart
• drill (optional)
• twine (optional)
• glass votive holder
• scissors
• old box (optional)
• gold fine tip paint pen
• black fine tip felt pen

I came up with this idea while I was walking through a vintage shop. I came across several heart shaped crocheted doilies and it reminded me of my mom. She always had grandma’s doilies displayed somewhere in the house.

• Take the burlap ribbon/lace and cut enough to wrap around the jar.
• Place the burlap ribbon in a box* and spray adhesive glue** to the back of the ribbon.
• Wrap the ribbon onto the jar.

*The box keeps the spray adhesive contained. If you don’t have a box, you will need to protect any areas that are near your spray area or it will become tacky with the overspray.

**You can skip the adhesive glue and apply clear gel tacky glue to adhere the ribbon to the jar. I use the adhesive spray because it allows me time to adjust the ribbon without smearing gel glue all over the glass. You can go back and use gel glue to tack the burlap/lace ribbon down once you are happy with the ribbon placement. 

I ended up cutting the burlap/lace ribbon at an angle to mimic the edge of the heart. Cutting away the burlap ribbon allowed more the doily pattern to be seen against the clear glass.

• Spray adhesive on the back of the doily.
• Place doily over the burlap ribbon to cover the edges. Make adjustments to placement and trim burlap ribbon.
• Lift edges of the doily and use clear gel tacky glue to secure the doily to the glass. 

I drilled holes into a small wooden heart and pulled the twine through to attach it to the jar. If you don’t want to drill holes, the heart can be glued directly onto the lace doily using the clear gel glue. Just make sure to lay the jar flat and let the glue completely dry.

• Drill holes in the wooden heart.
• Use the gold pen to draw scallops around the edge of the heart.
• Use the black pen to write your message on the heart.
• Pull twine through the drill holes.
• Tie the heart onto the jar.

As a filler for the bottom of the vanity jars, I shredded two small brown paper bags. Other options would be pearls, sand, gems, stone, and whatever filler makes you happy.

• Shred brown paper bags and place in the jar.
• Place the makeup brushes into a small glass votive.
• Insert the votive*** and makeup brushes into the middle of the shredded brown paper bags.

***If you plan on using a hard filler (rocks or sand), I highly recommend using a small votive to corral the makeup brushes. The votive keeps the handles of the brushes from being damaged by the harder vase fillers.

I picked up the jar at Hobby Lobby and the lid had major suction strength. To decrease the suction, I cut away some of the rubber seal and now the lid pulls right off.

• Place the cover on the jar. 

The second jar is super simple, so I didn’t take step-by-step photos. For the second jar, all you need to do is cut four burlap ribbons to fit the vertical length of the jar. Space out and glue these strips of ribbon to the jar with the clear gel glue. To hide the cut edges of the ribbon, glue twine around the top and bottom. Finish the top with a simple bow or burlap flower. 

Give these Mother’s Day vanity jars as a single gift or check back tomorrow for the rest of my Mother’s Day Vanity gift set. Here’s a sneak peek…