Repurposed Glass Jar Lanterns

Posted by Caley on April 23rd, 2009 at 05:00am

Every so often, I get a little fancy and buy the gourmet yogurt from our local supermarket that comes in lovely glass jars. This yogurt comes in flavors like Lemon Ginger and Blueberry, so you can understand why I occasionally splurge. I keep all these glass jars for crafting, and they are starting to line up on window sills around the kitchen. When I was young, I used to fill these kinds of jars with colored marbles. The sun coming through the jars was gorgeous. Now I have something else in mind.

When I was on the train to Belfast a new weeks ago, I was reading MAKE magazine (my boyfriend has EVERY issue). Most of the projects, I must say, are quite beyond by means here in Ireland without a proper work shed, but one seemed possible. Basically, the project is for a hanging lantern made with a glass jar and an inexpensive LED light. A feather hangs from the lantern and the lantern lights up as the feather is moved by the wind. To learn how to make this project, you’ll have to check out MAKE Volume 17.

For something a little easier, you can use simple tea lights and sturdy wire to make hanging lanterns. Or, create votives by decorating the jar in a number of ways. Frosting with special paints is a fun look and you can leave shapes or monograms un-frosted.  I know these glass jars will come in handy for Halloween.

For something completely unrelated to lighting, you could also paint cherries on the side for a little candy jar for your desk.

What do you think I should do with them?

Tags: glass, lanterns, recycling, votives

Under Green Crafting Tags: glass, lanterns, recycling, votives