07 November 2009

Home-Made Jar Lanterns


I am rather proud of myself with these little babies. Don't they look pretty magical hanging in my tree? I made them myself in about 5 minutes while also getting ready for a BBQ!


OK five minutes doesn't count how long it took me to soak'n'scrape the labels off the jam jars. Ugh. But we won't go there.


 I had the idea for making these when I was thinking up stuff to decorate our backyard for my 40th I had seen some fancy glass tree lanterns for lots of dosh in a catalogue, and was thinking about whether to splash out, when this idea came to me. I had no idea if it would work til I did it. And I have to say, I think they turned out really nice. I'll be making more.

Here's how to make your own...

EQUIPMENT
Glass Jars (any kind, baby food jars would also work great)
Thin Wire (available from $2 shops)
Tealight candles
Coloured cellophane or Duraseal
To light: you'll need a long lighter or matches






  1. Cut one length of wire and circle it around the neck of the jar, twist the ends together to secure it.
  2. Cut a another length of wire and loop it under the neck-wire; bend and twist it to form a handle. Loop under the wire on the other side of the jar, bend back and twist to secure it.
  3. Cut a length of coloured cellophane or Duraseal and cover the jar on the outside. Place the tealight candle inside.










The backyard looks lovely with more of these hanging in the trees...


...and the kids love them ♥


{They also look pretty amazing all different colours, grouped together on a table}


FOLLOW ME ON Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Bloglovin //

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

nicely done... I have seen these before, BUT it does not take away from the fact that you did this all on your own with out googling "homemade lanterns"

Unknown said...

I love them! They look so pretty hanging. Might have to make a few of these...Lord knows I have enough baby food jars!

Anonymous said...

Wow they look so awesome! I'm so stealing this idea.

PaisleyJade said...

What a great idea - look so cool. I think I might steal your idea too!

Savvy-Motherhood said...

This is BRILLIANT! I love it!

Melinda said...

Well, I'm impressed, Simoney! They look beautiful.

And regarding your comment on my blog ... I'm so happy to hear I wasn't the only nerd growing up! I bet you have a beautiful smile! Okay, well, I might be brave enough to email you my nerd picture (deep breath!). I take comfort in the fact that I won't be able to hear you laughing over cyberspace! ;0)

Sammy said...

They look fabulous! Well done you!

granny winnie said...

They look lovely Simone, what a clever lass.

Kirsty said...

Those are gorgeous. Well done! Found you through the new Obnoxious SAHM site :) You have a lovely blog. I'm from South Africa but currently living in the States. I hear NZ is fab if not always sunny.

Gail said...

coolness

Anonymous said...

Here's a tip, use baking soda to help remove lables off jam jars-it removes that sticky residue left behind too...most of the time. Just sprinkle it on after soaking the jars in hot water and rub off the lables.

Simoney said...

THANKYOU Anonymous! Great tip!

Post a Comment