Crone Chronicles: Mason Jar Bar

During one of my Pinterest perusing sessions, I happened upon this Mason Jar Key Hook project on Shanty 2 Chic's blog. (I adore their projects and blog, btw!) Make something to hang on the wall that uses Mason jars? Sign me up!

Since I've been working on my master bathroom, what better place for this amazing project. I decided to make a smaller version with only one hook for a hand towel and two mason jars for toothbrushes? cotton balls? Q-tips? I didn't have to decide right then. I knew I'd find a great use for it.

I set off to Lowe's late one Sunday night. That's the best time to shop there in my opinion. There were hardly any people and sales reps were readily available to help me. I picked out an amazing 1 X 8 and had it cut into a 16" piece, a 24" piece and took the rest as it was. Curtis, the very boisterous sales rep, cut the pine board for me and chatted all the way back to the check-out counter. He was very intrigued about what I was making and wanted to know all about it. Like any good DIY-er, I was happy to tell him all about it. :) On with the building show!

I picked up Matte Nickel Robe Hooks at Wal-Mart. They had a pack of 6 for $5 and some change. It was better than Lowe's or Target, which wanted just about $3 for 2. Since I will be using more for another project, I got the 6-pack. I had to search high and low to find Rustoleum's Heirloom White spray paint. Fred Meyer carries it but of course, they were out of stock when I went. I ended up finding some at Home Depot a few days later. I also picked up Rustoleum Java Brown Glaze for $15 at Home Depot. The quart will last through many, many, many projects to come. Other items I needed were two 2" clamps that look like this.

For some reason I didn't take pictures during the process, which is so unlike me. I'll walk you through the steps and show the finished product.

Use push-ins in the 4 corners on the backside of the board to hold it off the ground when painting.
Turn board over so it rests on the push pins and spray Heirloom White. 2 coats with plenty of drying time between coats.
After the second coat is completely dry, I sanded the surface a little bit as it was more rough than I wanted.
Then, I sanded the corners/edges using 220-grit sandpaper on my "mouse" handheld electric sander. You could also use 220-grit sandpaper on a 3M sanding block or in your hand. Your choice completely! I sanded until I could see the bare wood and rounded the corners/edges some.
Wipe down the entire board with a lint free cloth to remove all dust.
Using a small foam brush, brush on the Java Brown Glaze in the direction of the wood grain. Brush on a little glaze, wipe off the excess and repeat until you've reached your desired level of distressing. Take your time with this step. You can put more on but you can't easily take it off. However, if you rub in the direction of the grain right away, you'll get pretty close to removing all of it.
Let dry.
Once the glaze is dry, coat with a clear sealer.
While everything is drying, I worked on making holes in the clamps large enough for a wood screw to go through. The best method I found was, using a scrap piece of 2 X 4, a nail and hammer; hammer the nail through the slot in the clamp you want at the back. This took a little while but was worth it.
When everything is dry, attach the robe hook and clamps.
Attach sawtooth hangers on the back and hang.
Put the Mason jars in the clamps, fill and...
VOILA! It's done!