colored flowers in colored jars

Here's another project for the classroom.  I pinned a colorful birthday party on pinterest and my co-teacher said she loved the colored flowers in the colored buckets.  She was picturing them on our window sills.  It was something I hadn't even noticed, but did like them when I went back and looked.  I figured I could make my own version. 

Here's the inspiration photo, from Colorful Crayon Themed Birthday Party on Hostest With the Mostest.

Now that I've spent more time looking at it, I think I want that bunting too!

My classroom budget said smaller containers and fewer flowers.  I painted the inside of some mason jars I already had on hand.  You sort of just glop some paint inside and thin it with a tiny touch of water.  Then you roll the paint around in the jar until its covered. It takes two days at least to dry.  I really like this look, how the gloss of the glass is still there on the outside.

I found some fall flowers on sale at Michaels.  Each bundle had two to three colors of flowers.  I bought three of each color combo and switch the flower heads around until they were all one color. 

The green wasn't green enough, and there was white, and I really wanted blue and the red was a little too maroon.  I considered spray paint and dye and using a brush to paint.  After I started painting the jars, I had extra paint on hand.  

I watered the paint down a little more and put it in a plastic bowl.  I dipped the blooms in and swooshed around to coat.  This picture shows the very last one.  There was more paint at the start.  I also kept the bundles together, except this first one which I unknowingly cut apart.  

Then I hung them to dry inside a plastic bag. I ended up cutting the sides down after they weren't the first night.  I rigged this up hanging it from my ironing board.  I have linoleum in my sewing room, it's the only floor in the house that I don't care so much for and risked some drips.

The white flowers became blue and the sage/light hunter green flowers became a nice primary green.  The maroon became a nice red. I had the jars on hand as well as the paint.  I only had to buy flowers.  With my teacher discount at Michaels, I think I have about $7 in this project. Now that I know I can paint the flowers, I probably could have picked some up at the dollar store, but I think I'd have about the same amount in it.

I have since added pink and need one more so each window sill in our classroom gets one. We have 8 windows.   I am not sure what other color to try for.  We'll probably need new curtains now too.