Lucky for me... I had the perfect shelf. It was one my mom had seen at a garage sale and picked up for a buck or two. Its just been sitting in my garage, waiting for the perfect project.
I didn't want to pay for mason jars, so I just emptied a few things out of my fridge (that probably needed to go anyways!). I used a jelly jar, pizza sauce jar, and an alfredo sauce jar. I like this because the jars are a variety of sizes, which adds to the look. I filled them with some beans I had from another project that I got for $1 at Fred's.
I took some jewelry wire ($1.50 for the spindle that I used a tiny bit of), twisted it together to make it strong, and then wrapped it around the top of the jar. I made little loops on each side so I could connect the hanging wire as well. I twisted the hanging wire and then looped it through the holes I had made. It is plenty strong enough to hang the jars by.
I bought $1 candles from hobby lobby to put down in the jars. I let them burn for a little bit so they would appear like they have been used a few times at least.
I don't process pictures for the shelf, but it started out just a boring brown color. I spray painted it white and then took my sander to it (of course). After roughing it up a bit, Smith hung it in our dining room for me and we put the jars in place. LOVE how it turned out! I did the whole project for less than 1 of Pottery Barn's mason jars would have costs me! I mean no disrespect to one of my favorite stores, but I must say... Booyah, P.B.