Easy DIY Apothecary Jars

So, it's been awhile, and a few things have happened in the year plus since I last posted.  Most relevant to this post is that we moved last month, and got a fireplace, which we've been starting to decorate with our Halloween decor.  After pulling out everything that we brought with us, it still looked kind of...meh.  So I decided that I wanted some apothecary jars full of candy to put up.  I googled, and all of the apothecary jars were either affordable, but tiny, or large and far too expensive for my personal tastes and budget.  I decided to see if I could make some myself, and, spoiler alert, it worked out perfectly, and cost less than $20 for the decor (and another $25 for candy...but that was definitely my own fault).  So, in case you want to make some jars too, but didn't have the idea before I did--here it is.  I feel silly even calling this a "DIY" or a "Tutorial," because it's so easy.

 Supplies :

1. Some candlesticks.  I found this cool metal pair.
2. A Vase with a shape you like.
3. A jar that's probably from someone's candle (this one had a lid!)
4. Another jar of some sort, with a lid you can steal to fit the vase.
5. A cool jar that just needs to be sterilized.
6. A really strong-holding epoxy-type glue.

I got all these supplies from my local thrift store except the glue, which I got from Walmart FOREVER ago. I believe the glue was about $5 for the tube, and it also comes in black.  For this project, you want the clear, so make sure you grab the right one.

For me, I saw the candlesticks first, and tried to make sure that the vases and other containers fit into them nicely so that gluing would be as easy as possible. Peel off all stickers and labels. Then, pull off any plastic pieces on the lids. For me, the former candle had a plastic stopper around the lid that smelled really strongly of cinnamon (which I discarded), and the square-ish jar had a plastic stopper around the glass lid which I removed and washed.  Both came off easily with a little pulling. Then run everything through the dishwasher with a "sanitize" cycle included, since you'll be putting food into them, or scrub them really, REALLY well if you don't have a dishwasher. Once everything is clean, be sure to dry them thoroughly. Lastly, glue the jars/vases to the candlesticks, following your glue's instructions, fill with candy, and display!

You'll have to decide if also gluing the lids shut is a better choice for you...

Happy Halloween!

I'm most excited about the versatility of the jars.  They will definitely work beyond Halloween!  Red and green candies for Christmas? Red, White and Blue for 4th of July? Honestly, maybe I'm most excited about having an excuse to have candy at my fingertips all year round.