When it comes to youth group get-togethers with my group of middle school girls, I try to find craft ideas that are both fun to make, but also useful in life (stay tuned for t-shirt infinity scarves coming in November). At the beginning of the summer we decided to make ombre prayer jars.
The idea? An adorable and unique jar that the girls can store their prayer requests in (with the idea of handing it over to God) and revisit every month or so to see how things have turned, or are turning, out.
This was a pretty easy craft, in terms of supplies. I found small mason jars at Craft Warehouse (one of my absolute most favorite stores), along with some stickers, burlap “ribbon” and ties, Mod-Podge (a staple!), glass markers and sharpies, sponges for application and glass-friendly paint. We decided on black and white, though you could do almost any color imaginable. I also bought some brown stock paper and gave it to the girls to take home and write their requests on. All in, I’d say the cost was about $45 for 6 jars, though I’m sure you could find some of the accessories cheaper.
The ombre was a little more difficult than I had imagined it would be. I discovered that it worked best if we used three sponges: one with white paint, one with black, and one mixed into a gray, and started from the bottom (black) up. We did the bottoms of the jars, and the lids as well. There really isn’t a “wrong” way to ombre, so however you feel comfortable doing it, go for it! Once we applied stickers, ribbons and writing, we covered the entire jar in a matte Mod-Podge, which gave the jars an almost rubbery feel and held all the “extras” in place, and left the jars outside for a few hours to dry.
The jars were all very different and turned out super cute, plus the girls had a blast doing it (and getting all sorts of messy). I’ve had several of the girls tell me about prayers they have put or kept inside the jars as well, so I’d definitely call the ombre jars a success!
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