Create a DIY engraved candy jar Valentine’s Day craft using a Dollar Tree glass jar and a laser engraver for a budget-friendly personalized gift.
You know I love creating meaningful gifts without blowing the budget, and this Valentine’s Day craft is one of my favorites.
It’s affordable, personalized, and looks like something you’d buy from a specialty shop. You’d never guess it started with a glass candy jar from Dollar Tree!
Using my WeCreat Lumos laser engraver, I turned a simple jar into a beautiful, engraved glass Valentine gift that’s perfect for someone special!
Full disclosure: WeCreat gifted me the Lumos laser to make a few short videos on Facebook and Instagram. I was so impressed with it that I wanted to share it here, too!
Watch the Candy Jar Valentine’s Day Craft Video Tutorial
You can watch the quick video tutorial here.
You can find all my videos on YouTube! Be sure to follow!
Materials Needed
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Valentine’s Day Craft Directions
Step 1: Prep the Glass Candy Jar
Before we can jump into the engraving, we have to prep the glass candy jar.
Because a laser has a hard time engraving on glass because it is clear, you need to put a coating on it. You could use tape, but tempera paint is inexpensive, washes off easily, and works like a charm!
I cleaned the glass with rubbing alcohol and then painted each side of the jar with white tempera paint.
I applied three coats per side, letting each coat dry completely.
Step 2: Design Your Valentine Images
I started in Canva to create my images. It’s important to note that you can make original artwork or use kids’ drawings. The sky is the limit!
My first image was Be Mine with hearts
The second image was made of three heart circles. There was a large, a medium, and a small nested inside each other.
Step 3: Set Up the Engraving
Inside the Make It app (which is free), I used the SKETCH feature, which outlines the images perfectly for engraving.
From there, I selected FULL ENGRAVE and chose my WeCreat Lumos machine with the BLUE LIGHT option.
A fun feature on the Lumos, it allows you to engrave using either the unidirectional setting or the bidirectional setting. The bidirectional makes it go much faster!
Settings:
- Power: 100
- Speed: 100
- Line Density: 300
Step 4: Laser Engrave with the WeCreat Lumos
Once the paint was dry, I placed the jar into the Lumos laser engraver with one painted side facing up.
The Lumos has a built-in camera, which is amazing. I’m not sure how people use lasers without cameras. I hit Refresh and AutoFocus, and I could see exactly what the laser was seeing on my computer screen.
I sized and positioned my first design (the Be Mine side), then clicked Framing so the blue light showed me the engraving area.
After confirming the placement, I lowered the safety shield, sent the design to the machine, and pressed to Go button on top.
The engraving turned out beautifully!
Once finished, I flipped the jar over and repeated the process with the second design.
Step 5: Clean, Fill, and Gift
To finish the jar, I rinsed it with water to remove the tempera paint and dried it.
Then, I filled it with some yummy Valentine candy. I found these new jelly candies and fell in love with them!
They look so good in the jar and make the engraving pop!
This Valentine’s Day craft makes such a sweet and thought gift.
You can also personalize this project by engraving names, dates, or special messages instead of the designs I used.
This engraved glass candy jar is one of those Valentine’s Day crafts that feels special without being complicated or expensive.
Other Fun Laser Crafts
If you enjoyed this one I think you’ll really enjoy these:
Thanks for stopping by! Remember: Life’s too short not to shimmer, so grab your glue gun and your glitter!™
Mona