Gingerbread Man Painted Jar

I’ve been as busy as an elf in Santa’s workshop, getting ready for my 1st (and possibly annual, if it goes well) 12 Days of Christmas event, and it’s finally here!  Thanks for joining me!  

My goal was to create projects that aren’t difficult, and don’t require too many supplies, and today’s project fits that bill, so let’s jump right in!

If there’s one thing that there is a lot of during the holidays, it’s sweets, and I wanted to come up with a festive way to store them, so we’re going to make a Gingerbread Man Painted Jar.  The wonderful thing about this jar, is the contents inside the jar are visible, so all those pretty cookies and candies aren’t hidden – and it’s EASY & CHEAP, and makes a wonderful gift as well.  If you don’t like gingerbread men (shame on you!), don’t worry – you can totally do a different design.

Are you ready to get started?  Let’s go!

Upcycled Painted Christmas Jar

Get the Santa Approved adhesive stencil HERE and make fun gift sacks this year!

The supply list to make the jar is very short.  Here’s what you’ll need:

*Glass Jar with Lid

*Contact Paper

*Cookie Cutter (or printed outline of a design)

*Spray Paint (your choice of color)

*White Acrylic Paint Pen (extra fine tip)

I bought this jar filled with candy last month, and my kids polished off most of the candy, so it was ready for me to use.  You can use any clean glass jar that has a lid – even one from the recycle bin.  Save your large candle jars that come with lids, because they are perfect for projects like this as well.

Christmas cookie jar before makeover

 

Pick out a cookie cutter – it doesn’t have to be a gingerbread man – you could use a candy cane,  a star, or Christmas tree shape and just choose a spray paint color to compliment the shape.  If you don’t have cookie cutters, just do an internet search for Christmas coloring pages or clip art, and you’ll find lots of designs to use.

Trace the outline on a small piece of contact paper and cut it out.

gingerbread man cookie cutter template for Christmas cookie jar

 

Adhere the cut out design on the jar – making sure it is centered and straight.

upcycled painted jar tutorial

 

Spray paint your jar with the lid on.  To avoid getting drips in the paint, don’t hold the can too close while spraying.  Light coats are best, drying between coats.

painted candy jar in progress

 

Pull the adhesive shape off the jar.  Looking cute already, isn’t it?!  I wanted to dress it up a little more though.

Gingerbread Man Painted Jar

 I used the acrylic paint pen to draw little lines around the gingerbread man edge, and put some dots around the edge of the lid.

Fill it with candy or cookies, and you have an adorable gift that is very inexpensive, and very easy to make.

Gingerbread Man Christmas Painted Jar

Walmart sells small candle jars with lids that cost about $1, and the label on them peels off easily, so you can paint the jar, leaving the candle inside, so the color of the candle will show through the “cut out” design.  You could also burn the candle, and clean the jar well before painting, then fill with small candy, like Tic Tacs, Skittles, Life Savers, etc.  These would be the perfect size for a stocking stuffer.

These are the same jars I used to make my Apothecary Jars, and I feel like a get a bonus every time I buy one of these candles, since I always upcycle the jar when the candle is gone – you can’t beat that for a dollar.

jar candle

You could even take this idea and run with it for other holidays – a heart for Valentine’s Day, a cross for easter, etc.  Wouldn’t it be adorable with the shape of a dog bone, filled with dog treats?!!

Well, what do you think?  Are you planning lots of handmade gifts and projects this year?  If so, what are you making?

I love hearing from you, so please don’t leave without saying “hello” in the comments below!!

{Click HERE to see all of the 12 Days of Christmas projects and printables – the link will be updated each day!}

12 Days of Christmas Projects

If you liked this project, click HERE for lots more Christmas projects and inspiration!

Christmas Projects, Printables and Handmade Gifts

{Feel free to PIN this project!}

Painted Gingerbread Man Christmas Candy Jar

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Comments

  1. OH How awesome! These would make great small gifts for the people at the office filled with goodies or hot chocolate mix!
    Love your creativity!
    Tena

  2. Jennifer Ozanich says

    So cute!

  3. This is sooo stinkin’ cute. I have little grandkids who will love these, their own personal candy jar!! Thank you!!

  4. What a great idea! So many grandchildren,and great grandchildren….this is really going to help this year! Thanks for sharing!
    Marilyn

  5. Cute idea! Now I have a great idea for all those old pickle jars I’ve been saving!

  6. Wow, so cute! When I think of all the candle jars I’ve had over the years and I could have made such cute gifts!

  7. Adorable. Besides family members, we have three neighbor households with small children and I have fun making and delivering favors for them on various holidays. This should be a fun one!

  8. Hi Angie! What a great idea! You’ve inspired me to know what to do with cheap jars I find at thrift stores, etc.! Thank you so much for sharing this cute project! Blessings from Bama!

  9. How do you keep the paint from chipping off with use? Great idea!

  10. this looks factory made, what a great idea and inexpensive. Thanks for the idea, I’ve got to try my hand at this

  11. Super-cute! Can’t wait to try – thanks for the creative idea!

  12. Adorable. Thanks for the idea

  13. Ummm how do u get top back off if u spray paint it shut?

  14. Jennifer Merritt says

    I adore these! I save all of my glass jars kind of like you do with your tin cans 😉 With the endless variety of designs I think I’ll run out of jars before I do ideas. Even the pasta sauce jars with metal lids can be painted and embellished with knobs. Thanks for this wonderful project. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for the next 11 days.

  15. Great idea Angie and so cute. Anyone would love this.
    Hugs,
    Audrey Z.

  16. Sandy McElroy says

    So cute, I’ll be doing this for sure !

  17. Catherine Tullis says

    Love these! Where do you find the “fat, sort of soft” peppermints that you used? I like them better than the hard kind that you suck for a long time but can’t find them. Thanks!

  18. Shelley Iverson says

    Cute how do you clean all the wax out of the jar

  19. Love your cookie jar it looks really cute with the peooermints showing through.

  20. This is adorable and seems very do-able-even for a complete novice like me! 😁

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