These DIY Mason jar tissue holders are the new THING! They are the rage of farmhouse décor and for good reason. They are simply adorable and really dress up that boring (but necessary) tissue box. No matter how decorative that cardboard box is, it’s still a boring tissue box but that doesn’t have to be your only option any more. I’m going to show you how to make a DIY Mason jar tissue holder and it’s super easy. I promise you can’t mess it up.
What you’ll need (I have linked the exact products I use for your convenience)
1qt Mason Jar (regular mouth, NOT wide mouth)
Chalk Paint (acrylic any brand)
Clear Glaze (any brand)
Twine
Scissors
Foam Brush
Cardstock Paper
Paint Markers, Decorative Stickers or Decal (if you choose to put a design on your jar)
Making a DIY Mason jar tissue holder is really an easy process. You just have to have a little patience as you need to wait for each coat of paint and or glaze to dry before you can move on to the next step.
Step 1
Apply a base coat of chalk paint to your entire jar using a foam brush. Make sure to paint the top rim and down around the bottom curve of the jar. Use long even brush strokes keeping the brush wet with a good amount of paint. If your brush gets too dry the paint will start to pull and separate.
Let this base coat dry for at least one hour. It won’t look too pretty just yet. The jar will have more paint in some areas than others and your brush strokes may not look perfect yet but that’s okay. This is just the first coat. Also, make sure you wash and dry your foam brush so it’s ready to go for the 2nd coat of paint.
Step 2
Make sure the first coat is completely dry then apply the 2nd coat of paint. Again, you’ll want to make sure the brush stays wet so it doesn’t pull off any of the 1st coat of paint. If you do get some paint separation or pulls don’t worry about it. Just get some paint on your brush and dab at the blemished area until it has full paint coverage. Don’t keep pulling down with the brush or you’ll just get more separation of the paint.
After the 2nd coat is applied
Let this coat dry for about an hour also.
Step 3 (optional)
If you do not want to distress your Mason jar, skip to step 4.
If you want to distress your DIY Mason jar tissue holder, now is the time to do it. I did not distress mine but it is easy to do and makes a nice antique looking finished product. To distress your Jason jar you’ll want to make sure the 2nd coat of paint is completely dry. Then get a small piece of low grit or fine grit sand paper and just start rubbing that areas you want to distress. It’s common to distress the raised wording on the Mason jar along with some of the beveled edges of the jar. This is totally up to you. Do what makes you happy.
Step 4
Once the 2nd coat is fully dry and your jar is distressed if you choose to distress it, you can apply the clear glaze. For my jars I used a high gloss glaze because that’s what I had on hand. You can use high gloss or a mat finish glaze. Either will work just fine. Make sure you go outside to glaze your DIY Mason jar tissue holder.
Once you’re outside, shake the glaze really well. Hold the spray bottle about a foot away from your jar and spray in even strokes covering all sides of the Mason jar. You don’t need much glaze. You most likely won’t be able to see the glaze as your putting it on. Do not over glaze your jar or it will look blotchy. Just do a few even sprays on each side of the jar and you’re done. If your jar looks wet, you put on too much glaze. Let the glaze dry for at least an hour.
Step 5
When everything is all dry it’s time to add the tissues. Open the cylinder of tissues and pop the top off. You should be able to easily do this by putting your finger in the tissue opening and pulling up. Pull the tissues out of the cylinder and get the first tissue started by pulling it out of the middle and up to the top. Place the tissues in the Mason jar.
Step 6
Now you’ll make the top of the jar that holds the tissues in. For this you need cardstock. You can use any kind of cardstock you want. It can be a solid color, a printed paper, foil finish, glitter finish…literally any kind of cardstock you want (craft foam paper actually works pretty well too).
Take the inner part of the Mason jar lid and place it on your cardstock. Trace around the lid with a pen or pencil then cut the circle out of your cardstock. Once you have the circle cut out you’re going to make a cross cut. To do this, fold the circle in half and cut and cut a vertical line from the fold half way up to the top arch of the circle. Then you will fold the circle in half from the opposite direction and make another vertical cut from the fold half way up to the top of the arch.
What your cross cut should look like
Step 7
Feed the top of the tissues through the cross cut you just made in your cardstock. Pull the cardstock down the tissues until it is resting on the rim of the Mason jar. Next, place the outer circle of the Mason jar lid onto the jar screwing it on over the cardstock. You’ll want to hold the cardstock in place as you screw on the lid or it will start to turn and this will twist up your tissues.
Step 8
Measure out enough twine to make a bow around the rim of the Mason jar. Tie the twine on and make a bow. If you’re wanting to leave your jars plain with no decoration or words on them, then you’re done!
If you’re wanting a little decoration on them then you’ll add it now. You can get paint markers in whatever color you like and write on the jar. Or you could head to the scrapbooking section of the craft store and find some decals or stickers you love and apply those to your jar. I use my Cricut to cut out a vinyl decal and put on my DIY Mason jar tissue holder. You can find my decals in my Etsy shop if you love them and want to use one.
Super cute
Thanks, Geri! I’d love to see yours if you make one!