Etceteras: DIY Faux Amber Glass

I wanted to add some pops of color to my fall décor and thought some amber colored glass would be the perfect accent. You  have probably seen many variations of coloring glass jars on craft sites and blogs. I’ve tried several methods and my favorite technique is using food coloring and Mod Podge.



I made this faux cranberry glass jar {above} a few years ago and it’s one of my most popular projects. You can read about it here. Over the years the color had faded and so I soaked the jar to remove the remaining pale color and reused it for my new faux amber glass.

I played around with the formula to achieve different hues of amber.

To color jars, you’ll need: jars, Mod Podge, water and food coloring. Start by cleaning your jars thoroughly. In a glass measuring cup or disposable container, mix 2 tablespoons of Mod Podge, 1-2 teaspoons of water and a few drops of food coloring. For these amber jars, I used a mixture of yellow and red food coloring. You need to play around with the formulas to achieve the different colors.

For this jar, I used approximately 4 drops of yellow and one drop of red food coloring. Mix your Mod Podge, water and food coloring together and pour it into your jar. Gently swirl it around until it covers the entire inside of the jar and let the remaining mixture pour out. Wipe the mouth of the jar with a paper towel and set the jar upside down on a wire rack to dry. You may want to wipe the mouth a few times during the drying process to remove the excess.

I thought some swirls of color would be pretty so after swirling around the mixture I added a drop of red food coloring directly into the jar and rotated the jar so it would run down the sides of the jar.

I used the same embellishment that I had used on my faux cranberry glass to cover the neck of the jar. This is an old broken necklace. A dab of hot glue holds it in place. To achieve a paler color like the Atlas Mason jar in the background, use more water in your formula.

Every time I use this technique the results and colors vary. It’s fun to see what color the jar will end up once it’s dry. Have you ever colored glass jars? What’s your favorite technique?

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