How to decorate vintage apothecary and canning jars for Christmas

 I like the look of jars decorated for the holidays. But, I also like to use the jars in my kitchen and around the house for various things, so didn't want to tie up a jar forever just to set it out for a couple of weeks for Christmas.

My solution was to do some temporary displays, no glue, just pop some pretties in and add fake snow.

I make a lot of jars that are permanent decorations too, like this paper clay snowman on top of an old spice jar.

When I do that, I use a very sturdy glue. I start by drizzling the glue into the bottom of the bottle, and then stick my main pieces in, and over that, I sprinkle mica flakes and add mini mercury glass beads.  (mica flakes are nicer for a piece that you want to last forever, I only use the Hobby Lobby fake snow for the temp jars)

If you are doing a permanent bottle or jar, its also important to make sure the lid (whatever you use for that) is attached securely too, like this bottle brush tree topped bottle.

But since I wanted to re-use my old canning jars, I didn't use any glue.  These jars have been handy for so many things already, besides just leftovers, they have been vases for fresh flowers and center pieces for our family reunion.

So, I gathered up some supplies, branches cut up from sparkly picks found at Michael's 70% off holiday craft aisle, and some fake snow from Hobby Lobby's 50% off shelf.

First, I plopped in a branch for height in the back, then added a figurine to the front.  After that, I poured in the fake snow.

A dowel rod was good for moving pieces around to get them to where I liked them.

After the main pieces were in place, I dropped in some mini shiny brites and a bottle brush ball from an old corsage.

Then, I tied an old ribbon to the top and added some millinery.

This one was done the same way, a branch in the back first, then the figurine, a deer that I added some holly to. It got a bottle brush tree too.

Next, the snow, another frosty branch for in front of the deer, and a bow with millinery on the rim.

This one is even more simple. Its a small apothecary jar, with a pink bottle brush tree, fake snow, and a handful of little mercury glass beads.

Part of an old Christmas corsage is tied to the top.

I can never get enough of those old corsages!  They can be tucked into the tree, dropped into a jar, tied onto a lamp shade, or worn on your coat. 

I cut one up to decorate this bottle brush tree glued to a wooden painted candle stick for Carol.

Parts of an old corsage were used to make this stocking from a vintage baby sock.

Old corsages are a great source for the little beads I like to use too. I also buy garlands of beads to take apart when I find them at a good price.

One thing to beware of if you are making temporary jarfuls of holiday cheer, is to keep them out of reach of curious fingers. Kids will want to shake them like a snow globe and even adults can be enticed into picking them up to get a closer look. 

Which means, its not a display anymore, its a jumble.

Of course, no real damage is done, it's easy to poke a stick down in the jar and move things back into position again. 

For me, it was a very quick project just dumping in some stuff on my desk and poking it around with a stick till I liked the look and adding a bow.  I used chipped, junky, or plastic figurines in my jars, but under glass, they look so much more special!