How to Install Mason Jar Lamps

Mason jars are useful for all sorts of craft projects.

Mason jars are typically used in the canning of fruit, vegetables and meats to keep them preserved long after their season has ended. They are also used as drinking glasses and decorations. For an easy craft to light up a room and keep that simple farmhouse-type look, a Mason jar lamp may be just the project for you. There are two main ways to create and install Mason jar lamps. One involves the use of electrical connections while the other makes use of tea light candles.

Things You'll Need

• Mason jar
• Small nail
• Tin snips
• Electric bulb socket kit
• Clear silicone caulking
• Low-wattage lightbulb
• Phillips head screwdriver
• Plastic wing wire connector
• 20-gauge wire, 12 in
• Needle-nose pliers
• Beach or play sand
• Tea light candle

Instructions

Electric Mason Jar Lamps

1. Clean the Mason jar thoroughly of drink or food residues that could get baked onto the glass when it is functioning as a lamp.

2. Remove the lid from the jar, turn it over top side down and punch a small 1 inch hole in it. Use a small nail and a pair of tin snips to enlarge the hole.

3. Pull the wires from the lamp socket kit up through the bottom of the lid. Center the light socket in the lid to ensure the lightbulb won't bang against the inside of the Mason jar.

4. Seal the edges and sides around the light socket on the lid with clear silicone caulking. This will help prevent insects from getting into the jars and spoiling the look of your lamp. Allow the silicone to dry for eight hours.

5. Screw a low-wattage lightbulb into the socket and then screw the lid onto the jar.

6. Connect the wire to the power source. Some light socket kits come with a regular wall socket connection that can be plugged in easily. Others will come with a wire that must be connected to an alternating current wire. If your kit is the first type, your lamp is ready to use. If it is the second type, there is some more work to do.

7. Shut off the power to the alternating current wire. It is safer to do this at the circuit breaker than it is at the wall that can be accidentally turned on when you are working on it. Remove the cap over the electrical box using a Phillips head screwdriver and set the cap aside. This should already be installed into the ceiling and have the wiring running to it.

8. Strip 1 inch of insulation off of the lamp socket kit wiring to expose the copper wire inside. Twist the copper wire onto the alternating current wire. Place a plastic wing wire connector over the two wires and twist into place. Replace the cap on the electrical box. Turn the power back on and your Mason jar electric lamp is ready to use.

Tea Light Mason Jar Lamps

1. Clean the Mason jar thoroughly. The heat from the candle will bring out the smell of any food residues still present on the glass.

2. Wrap a piece of 20-gauge wire around the jar just under the lip where the lid sits on the jar. Join both ends of the wire together and twist to hold it in place. Use a pair of needle-nose pliers and twist until both ends tighten around the jar firmly. Bend the straight piece of wire up and over into a loop so that the wire doesn't snag on anything.

3. Bend another piece of 20-gauge wire into a handle and hook one end of the handle on one side of the jar and the other end on the opposite side. Use the needle-nose pliers to make sure the handle is securely fastened to the jar.

4. Fill the jar with regular beach or play sand or if you choose you can use colored sands.

5. Insert a tea light candle into the sand and light it. With this design a lid is optional, but if you choose to use one, you will need to punch a few small holes in the lid with a finishing nail.

References

• Design Sponge: DIY Project: Whitney's Mason Jar Lights
• Tip Junkie; Mason Jar Lights
• Tip Junkie; Mason Jar Lights DIY Lights