Summer Glass Painting Craft

Written on May 6th, 2025

Upcycle old jars to create gorgeous glasses with this summer craft!

In need of a cute and crafty summer activity with friends, collect your old jars and get creative, painting your favourite designs on them to make upcycled glasses. The perfect summer craft for adults, whether you’re a DIY expert or just looking to get arty, this is a sustainable activity that everyone can enjoy!

To make our glasses, we first collected all our old jars, from pasta sauce to pickles, we guarantee some of your foodie favourites have interesting jars to upcycle. Short, wide, tall, choose whatever will work for your iced coffee or cocktails, giving them a good wash out and removing any labels by running the jar under warm water and slowly peeling the paper off. If you’re left with any sticky residue, try using washing up liquid and warm water to break it up and leave you with a clean canvas.

For our jars, we used specific glass paint, it works better on the smooth surface and will last longer when hand-washing your glasses while keeping your design looking vibrant. Whilst the paint alone should hold up when gently hand-washing, you can also use clear craft varnish for an extra added layer of protection. We would not recommend washing your glasses in the dishwasher if you want to preserve the paint.

If you need some glass painting ideas, here’s a round-up of some fun designs that you can do!

• Bees
• Lemons, cherries or any other summery fruit!
• Flowers
• Colourful swirls, spots or a fun asymmetric design
• Make it beach themed with shells or sealife

Getting crafty is a great way to up-cycle old things around the house, whether it’s jars or even giving your drinking glasses a new life. This is an ideal summer craft to do in the garden, with friends or a great activity for when you want to do something creative. We’d love to see your crafts, remember to tag us on socials @boothscountry

We always love a craft that lets us recycle, even more so when we can enjoy some tasty food and recycle the packaging after, to find more tasty condiments (and jars to upcycle!), pop in to store and have a browse!