Mason Jar Solar Lights

I saw a post about making solar lights out of Mason Jars. It said to paint them inside with glow-in-the-dark paint. They didn't glow, so I inserted solar lights and all was well.

I was inspired by two posts at Crafty Gardener's blog to upscale my jars. I used cabin art supplies and Christmas tissue paper to redo my picnic table Mason Jar solar lights.

The jar lights before their makeover.

I used the decoupage method to turn my solid yellow jars into multicolour picnic table centerpieces.

I had Elmer's glue, so I mixed it one part glue to three parts water to make a decoupage medium. You can buy expensive versions, but this works just as well.

I tore the red and white tissue paper into irregular pieces. I didn't want any with straight edges.

Decoupage glue with a wide brush.

Paint a small section of the glass with the glue mixture then lay a dry piece of tissue paper on. Work it with the brush to keep the paper from sticking to your fingers. Gently paint glue over it until the paper adheres. Press too hard and the tissue will tear.

Starting at the bottom, I alternated and overlapped the two colours to make a pleasing pattern. The white was opaque, so I did that part in double layers.

Painting the mason jar rings and tops.

I let the jars dry before turning them over to decoupage the uppers to just under where the jar's rings screw on.

My lights are smaller than the rings, so I cut a hole in the middle of a jar lid. It doesn't have to be perfectly round. The solar light, when inserted, will cover up the edges. Don't cut yourself.

Spraying on a protective coat.

I dug into my canning supplies and got two new rings to replace the rusty old ones. I painted them white with acrylics. I reused the old lids I'd originally cut and painted them black to match the solar lights.

Once the lids were screwed on, I sprayed the jars from all angles with three coats of Krylon Colormaster Clear Finish. This protects the paper from scraping and gives it a water resistant surface.

As a Craft Room De-Stash Challenge (use what you have) here's my cost.

2 reused one quart Mason jars $0.00
Elmer's glue from my shelf $0.00
Tissue paper from Christmas $0.00
2 jar rings from my canning stuff $0.00
2 reused solar lights from before $0.00
Paint brush from my collection $0.00
Krylon spray from my supplies $0.00

The last step was to reinsert the solar lights. I'd already removed the long tubes normally used to stake them in the ground.

Upscaled Mason Jar solar lights on my front port picnic table.

During the day they are definitely red and white. At night, they take on a golden glow because of the old yellow paint inside. I like them both ways. How about you? -- Margy