*Affiliate links are included in this post.
Mother’s Day is looming and I wouldn’t be doing my craft blogger job properly if I didn’t produce a craft tutorial especially for the occasion! I decided to make a beautiful vase using a tall glass jam jar and a new tool I’ve been trying out: my fantastic Silhouette Cameo.
To make this project you’ll need the following materials:
- Silhouette Cameo (available at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com)
- Silhouette Cameo Studio Software (you should get this with the Silhouette Cameo)
- Adhesive vinyl sheet
- Adhestive transfer paper
- Spray paint in gold and pink that’s compatible with glass (I used SupaDec Gold Spray Paint and Plasti-kote Fast Dry Enamel in Pink)
- Glass jam / sauce jar
- Lace ribbon (optional)
- Glue gun (optional)
What is the Silhouette Cameo?
A quick note on the Silhouette Cameo before we begin. The Silhouette Cameo is a very clever electronic cutting machine that you link up to your computer. You can use the Silhouette Cameo Studio Software to create any design you like and then print and cut it out using the Silhouette Cameo. It’s compatible with paper, vinyl or fabric. No more aching scissor-hands, thank you very much!
It’s not the cheapest tool, but it’s a really excellent product and worth getting if you’re a crafter as you can do so many things with it – t-shirt designs, lettering, scrapbooking and much more.
Step 1: Designing with the Silhouette Cameo Studio software
For this Mother’s Day vase project, I wanted to create some lettering as part of the design: “Mum – You’re Blooming Wonderful” (perfect for a flower holder, right?). I loaded up the Silhouette Cameo Studio Software and created the text that I wanted. You can play around with fonts etc!
See picture above (apologies for the quality of this shot, it was late at night and I had to work with the most awful lighting)!
Step 2: Printing vinyl using the Silhouette Cameo
Once the design is created, you then print it out onto a vinyl sheet. I used black vinyl for this, as the colour doesn’t matter when you’re using it to create a reverse design. The Silhouette Cameo cuts out the design at the same time, you can just about see the lettering in the image below, after I’d trimmed the sheet.
Step 3: Peeling away the lettering
Carefully peel away (this process is called weeding) the surround of the vinyl sheet, leaving the lettering on the background. A sharp blade is useful for this part of the process and it’s a little bit time consuming, just to warn you!
Step 4: Transferring the lettering
When you’ve done that, you’ll need to overlay a clear transfer sheet on top of your design and press it down firmly over the lettering. When you peel the transfer sheet away from the white vinyl background, the lettering will stay on the transfer sheet, ready for you to place onto the glass jar.
Step 5: Transferring the lettering continued!
When you’ve transferred the lettering onto the jar, you can peel away the transfer sheet and hopefully, you’ll have something that looks like the above photo!
Step 6: Let loose with the spray paint!
Now for the really fun part, where you can let loose with spray paint. Use gold paint for the inside of the jar and cover the outside with a scrap piece of fabric to make sure you don’t get any gold paint on the outside. I used a hair band to keep the fabric nice and snug against the rim of the jar!
Spray the inside of the jar evenly, using a couple of coats if you need to (wait an hour between coats)!
Step 7: Spray another colour over the jar and vinyl lettering
Then spray the outside of the jar with pink spray paint, going over the lettering as you do so. Make sure you cover the jar a few times, using thin even coats. The lettering should be completely pink by the time you’ve finished!
Step 8: Peel away the lettering to reveal the reverse colour
Once the spray paint has dried, you can carefully peel away the lettering – use a sharp blade or sharp tweezers for accuracy. Take care not to peel the surrounding pink spray paint away. You’ll see the gold colour coming through the vase for the lettering, making it look absolutely beautiful!
If you want to, you can cover up the rim with a little ribbon. I used lace ribbon with my hot glue gun to stick this on.
A gift Mum will love!
Another option you can try (if you don’t want to go to all the trouble of peeling off the lettering to create a reverse design) is to just use a colour vinyl that you love and stick the design on after spray painting the outside of the jar.
You can present the upcycled vase to your mum on Mother’s Day just as it is, or fill with pretty flowers beforehand! I hope you enjoyed this Mother’s Day craft tutorial. Please take a minute to share this post online if so.
Before you go, check out these posts!
- How to Make Beautiful Waterfall Earrings
- Handmade Showcase – Gorgeous Evening Bags
- Cute Beaded Ribbon Bracelet
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*All images owned by Craftaholique. Please contact me if you’d like to use my images on your own website.
Julie Christiansen says
This is such a fun vase. Mother’s everywhere will love it!
Thanks for sharing at My Busy Beehive’s #beeparty last week! Hope to see you again!
Hayley says
Thanks Julie, glad you like it! Appreciate you stopping by and commenting!