Use food coloring and Mod Podge to tint any glass the shade you want – this tutorial on how to color glass is amazing, and really easy!
Skills Required: None. Even if you’ve never Mod Podged before or have little crafting experience, you should have success with this project.
Learn how to make amber glass with a simple tutorial. Did you know that you can add food coloring to Mod Podge to make amber glass?? Yes, you can.
And you can use said food coloring/Mod Podge mixture to create a stained glass look on mason jars, like Carolina did. She’s going to have amber jars as one of the centerpieces at her wedding, and what a great budget way to do it.
Follow her tutorial to stain glass any shade that you like. Learn how to color glass with Mod Podge by reading her instructions below.
Faux Colored Glass. One of my wedding centerpiece elements will be amber glass jars. I chose amber to coordinate with the traditional brown glass of beer bottles.
Of the many Mod Podge and food coloring methods around, I chose to follow the tutorial at Carolyn’s homework because she had done some protocol troubleshooting.
For coloring, I started with the “light brown” recipe on the back of a food coloring box and tweaked it several times to get the right color.
Even with Carolyn’s instructions, it took S-I-X attempts to get my colored glass to look presentable. I didn’t even take a picture of the first attempt (the Mod Podge never dried!)
Amber Glass Attempts
No brush marks, bubbles or crusty goop! Here’s what I did below.
Amber Glass
Ingredients
- Glass Bottles
- Mod Podge Gloss
- Food Coloring
- Wax Paper
- Teaspoon
- Aluminum Foil
- Baking Pan
Total Cost = $4
If you have jars, Mod Podge, and food coloring on hand – this could be a free or very cheap project for you! I highly encourage you to save glass jars from the recycle bin just for this purpose.
Let’s get into the how-to. *You may notice the tutorial pictures are pieced together from different jar “attempts”!
Have you found a good mason jar painting method? I’d love to know in the comments! Enjoy!
How to Color Glass
Learn how to tint glass using Mod Podge and food coloring! You'll be able to dye glass any color you like with this tutorial.
Materials
- Glass jar(s)
- Mod Podge
- Food coloring
Tools
- Bowl
- Mixing spoon
- Wax paper (to cover work surface)
Instructions
- Clean the glass jar with soap and water or rubbing alcohol; let dry.
- Add two heaping tablespoons of Mod Podge to a container.
- Add 8 - 10 drops of food coloring (you can mix colors) plus 1/2 teaspoon water and mix well.
- Pour the Mod Podge into the jar and swirl to coat. Place upside down on your work surface to let drain. Allow to sit until all excess Mod Podge is fully drained.
- Turn over and allow to dry for 24 hours. Alternatively, you can place in a 200 degree oven and bake until dry (do not leave unattended).
Notes
The more thoroughly you mix the food coloring, the less streaking that will occur in the finished product.
If you notice the Mod Podge mixture doesn't reach certain areas of the jar inside, you can use a paintbrush to assist.
Pam
Thursday 4th of April 2024
Hi Amy,
I am trying to look forward to my first jar(s) for Christmas items within my online store. Want to have a snow affect on inside of jar and stickers on outside. Do I remove the glue on outside of jar as they are Christmas decorations and variety of winter/ Christmas decor? Would like to use food coloring on inside of jars, and then have a crystal look of snow with Decopage on outside. My hopes are that small chains of clear christmas lights are on inside. Is all of this possible and am I on the correct path? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Newbie here and hoping for trhe best!
Sincerely, Pam
Dorothy
Saturday 30th of March 2024
Can I do this to a glass lamp shade
Amy
Saturday 30th of March 2024
Yes you can, though I'd check how hot the glass gets. You might want to use an LED bulb with it if the glass is getting really (Mod Podge is not flammable but you don't want it bubbling or melting off).
Nancy
Saturday 9th of September 2023
What color do you use to get the amber color
Bryan
Saturday 19th of August 2023
Jars came out great until I added water after they dried and the jars became cloudy. Jars were heated at 200 degrees for 90 minutes, and the water was added several hours later. Any suggestions?
Amy
Tuesday 22nd of August 2023
Hi Bryan! Did you add water to the interior of the jars and dye the interior of the jars? If you're going to add water, you have to put the Mod Podge on the outside, or add a separate vase to make it a double hurricane: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/pottery-barn-knock-off-double-bowl-hurricane-easter-tulip-centerpiece/ Any acrylic product is going to be activated with water sitting on it!
Mash
Wednesday 19th of July 2023
We made these im amber and purpley pink for my wedding and they looked lovely. Unfortunately they got totally messed up in the July sun. They looked all milky again and the colours totally changed. The ambers went a neon greenish/yellow. Just a warning to anyone else plans to do the same as us!
Amy
Wednesday 2nd of August 2023
Hi Mash! Yes you would have to use Mod Podge Outdoor with UV protection - or something else with UV protection! Mod Podge doesn't have it with the exception of that one formula.