DIY Mason Jar Tumbler

Who doesn’t want a mason jar tumbler?  When I was typing up this post I totally spelled tumbler, “tumblr.”  What has this world come to??  There are so many uses for a mason jar; night light, salad jar, spice jar, utensil holder, and now a tumbler to-go!

You can buy these online from other retailers or you can make a mason jar tumbler for yourself.  They are a little tricky to make, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to squeeze out 2 dozen of them with ease – as we did.

As we tried to figure out what kind of mason jar tumbler we liked, we set out to make different kinds; we made a dozen mason jars with chalk paint, a dozen plain, and one wide mouth tumbler (planning to hand these out to friends and family in the next few weeks) – or you can purchase one of them below.

DIY Mason Jar Tumbler

Supplies

• Mason Jar with lid – Walmart, Ace Hardware, Target – all under $12 for a dozen
• 1/2″ grommets (1/4″ interior diameter) – found a hardware store that you have to buy in bulk – ended up with 200 of them for less than $5
• Hammer and Pick
• Scrap block of wood
• Electric drill with 3/8″ bit and 2 smaller-sized bits
• Flathead screwdriver

Directions

1. Place scrap block of wood on a work bench or the ground.
2. Place mason jar lid on the block of wood.
3. Find the spot you want to make the hole – preferably off center – and place the pick on the spot.  Use your hammer to make a dent in the center of the spot where you are going to drill your hole.
4. Fit your drill with a smaller sized bit.
5. Starting slowly drill a through the pick dent.
6. Once you drill through, find a bigger size bit (still smaller than 3/8″) and repeat steps 4 & 5.  We’re trying to make a nice clean hole, free from twisted metal and sharp edges.
7. Fit the drill the with the 3/8″ bit and drill through.
8. Now for the tricky part.  I went with a rubber grommet, so I could squeeze it through the drilled hole.  The lip around the grommet will conceal the edges of the hole.  Use the flathead screwdriver to guide the grommet through the hole and around the lid.  For every 5 jars we made, we lost 1 grommet to being shred by the torn metal.
9. Voila!  You are done!  Hand wash your lids, but feel free to throw the mason jars in the dishwasher, and then enjoy.

We painted some with chalk paint, so you can write your names on them at parties – like wine glass tags.  We bought chalk spray paint at Home Depot and covered up the jar – except for the area we wanted to paint – and sprayed away.  We even sent the painted jar through the dishwasher (on the top shelf) to see if it would survive – and it did!  Make sure you read the directions on the chalk paint before moving forward.