Luminary Jar Crafts
Before you discard an empty pickle jar, baby food jar or any jar with a wide-mouth opening, try recycling it into a luminary for your home or garden. With a few modifications, wide-mouth jars make decorative receptacles for tea lights and votive candles. Luminary jar crafts are inexpensive custom lighting options that can last for years.
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Mosaic Jar Luminary
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Attach small pieces of sea glass, stained glass or flat-backed glass marbles to the outside of any size jar to create a mosaic luminary. Clear, viscous craft glue works best to hold the colorful glass pieces in place. Place the jar horizontally on a work surface and brace it on both sides to keep it from rolling. Attach the glass in sections, letting each section dry for at least eight hours before repositioning the jar. Glue glass bits around the threaded lid of the jar as well. After the jar is covered and the glue is dry, stand the jar upright and place a tea light inside.
Lacey Jar Luminary
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Create a quick, no fuss jar luminary using a canning jar, a doily and some ribbon or twine. Select a fabric doily to fit the outside of the canning jar. The shape of the doily will only cover one side of the jar. If you prefer to cover the entire jar, cut a section of fabric lace to fit. Spray adhesive onto the jar in the spot for the doily, then press the lacy fabric into place on the jar. Cut a strand of ribbon to cover the top rim and glue the ribbon in place with hot glue or viscous craft glue. Insert a tea light or votive candle inside the canning jar.
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Painted Jar Luminary
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Decorate any size jar with stained glass paint and black caulking to create a faux stained glass luminary. Black caulking is an inexpensive alternative to liquid leading or self-adhesive leading strips, though both of these products will work for this project. Mark a design onto the outside of the jar using a marker; the lines in the design represent the lead lines in the stained glass. Create random or geometrical shapes on the glass, or trace a pattern if you like. Go over each line with the black caulking to create a raised surface. After the caulking dries, fill in between the lines with different colors of stained glass paint. A tea light or votive completes the luminary.
Botanical Luminary
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Attach pressed flowers and foliage to the outside of any size jar to make a botanical luminary. Pressed pansies, daisies and other flat-face flowers work beautifully for this project, as do fern leaves and colorful fall leaves. To attach the botanicals, spread a light layer of decoupage glue onto the jar, then press the botanical into the glue. Cover the flower or foliage with another layer of glue and let it dry. Continue to cover the flowers/foliage with three additional light layers of decoupage glue; let the glue dry in between coats. Insert a tea light or votive to illuminate the luminary.
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