A canning jar is the cheapest lantern you’ll ever own, and these 25 summer mason jar crafts prove it. Most of them are about light: solar jars that switch on by themselves at dusk, citronella candles for the patio, nautical lanterns, frosted luminaries and a chandelier made from an old canning rack. There’s a beach in a jar for your vacation shells and a crate of herbs for the kitchen window too. I make candles myself, so I love that the citronella jars skip the wax entirely. Real flames outside? Pick a wide-mouth jar so the candle gets plenty of air. Want more? Try these quick mason jar crafts, fall mason jar crafts, mason jar vases and the full mason jar crafts collection.
1. Nautical Mason Jar Lantern Tutorial
Nautical mason jar lanterns are about as easy as summer decor gets. Swap the regular lids on pint jars for daisy-cut lids, which look prettier and let air reach a real candle. Cut a whale, an anchor and a ship’s wheel from adhesive vinyl with a cutting machine and press them onto the glass. Once the sun drops, the shapes turn into dark silhouettes against the glow. Battery tea lights flicker just like the real thing and can’t tip over or burn small hands, which makes them a smart pick for a busy patio.
Get the full tutorial at Suburble.
2. Mason Jar Window Treatment
This mason jar window treatment turns a plain window into a hanging garden of fresh blooms. Small jars hang at staggered heights on lengths of jute, each tied around the jar’s neck and looped over a Command hook fixed to the top of the frame. Drop a few stems of white mums or daisies into each one and the window frames the flowers instead of the view. It works especially well over glass block or frosted panes that already handle privacy. Refill the water every few days and swap the flowers as the garden changes.
Get the full tutorial at It All Started With Paint.
3. DIY Star Etched Mason Jar
Star etched mason jars get their frosted look from glass etching cream and a sheet of star stickers. Press the stickers firmly onto a clean jar, since anything that slips will smudge the design, and skip puffy stickers altogether. Brush on a thick, even coat of etching cream with a wider brush than the kit includes, wait the time on the label, then rinse it off and peel the stars away. A practice jar comes first, because the first try is rarely the best. A botched jar can be saved by frosting the whole thing.
Get the full tutorial at Soap Deli News.
4. Easy to Make Faux Beach Glass Mason Jar Lantern
Faux beach glass mason jars look like they washed up on the shore, but the frosted finish is just paint. Instead of brushing, dab frosted glass paint onto a clean jar with a foam spouncer or a scrap of sponge, which gives the bumpy, sea-worn texture that makes the effect believable. Build it up in thin layers and allow plenty of drying time between coats. Seafoam and pale aqua look the most like real sea glass. Add a lace doily medallion and a tea light inside, and they glow softly on a summer porch.
Get the full tutorial at Mod Podge Rocks.
5. DIY Mason Jar Glow Lights
Glow in the dark mason jars are a fun after-dark craft for a summer cookout, and they need no batteries or wiring. Grab any clean jar, a few colors of glow in the dark paint and some glitter. Dab small dots of paint all over the inside of the jar, layering colors so they blend, then sprinkle in glitter while the paint is wet. Let them soak up daylight on a sunny windowsill. Once the sun goes down, the dots glow like a jar full of fireflies, and it’s fine if the painting isn’t perfect.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
6. Mason Jar Bird Feeder
A mason jar bird feeder is heavy-duty, cute and costs about $3 to make. The base is a metal chicken feeder from the farm store, which screws right onto any regular-mouth jar. Tie twine around the jar’s rim, run it up the sides and tie another band around the middle to keep it upright when it hangs. Fill the jar with birdseed, screw on the feeder and flip it over. Hang it from a branch or a shepherd’s hook, or skip the twine and mount it on a fence post.
Get the full tutorial at Little House Living.
7. Fishnet Wrapped Mason Jar
A fishnet wrapped mason jar gives a blue canning jar instant beach house style using nothing but twine. Tie one piece around the jar’s neck, then fold ten 32 inch lengths in half and loop each one onto that band. Knot neighboring strands together all the way around to make the first row, then shift over and knot again to form diamonds. Keep going down the jar and finish with a knotted ring under the base. Set it on sand with a few shells, or drop in a tea light.
Get the full tutorial at It All Started With Paint.
8. DIY Fancy Mason Jar Tumbler
A DIY mason jar tumbler with vinyl lettering looks like the $30 versions sold online for a few dollars of supplies. Tape off the bottom of a wide-mouth jar and spray it with gold metallic paint. Once dry, rub on permanent vinyl letters, pressing hard since the jar’s surface is bumpy. Stir glitter into Mod Podge on a paper plate and brush a generous coat over the gold, which also seals the paint. Let it dry at least 30 minutes, add a wide-mouth straw lid and it’s ready for iced coffee. Hand wash only.
Get the full tutorial at Pretty Providence.
9. Easy Boho Chic Mason Jar Candle Holders
Boho chic mason jar candle holders get their jewel tones from tinted Mod Podge. Mix two heaping tablespoons of Mod Podge with 8 to 10 drops of food coloring and half a teaspoon of water, pour it into a clean jar and swirl to coat the inside. Turn the jar upside down to drain and let it dry until clear and glossy. Then add a pattern on the outside with adhesive stencils and paint for that Moroccan look. Group a few on a summer table, or add jar hangers to turn them into lanterns.
Get the full tutorial at Mod Podge Rocks.
10. Easy DIY Fairy Jar Lanterns
DIY fairy jar lanterns give off a soft, dreamy glow that’s perfect for a bedside table or a summer porch. Print a fairy silhouette, or trees, mushrooms or a tiny house, onto cardstock and cut it out. Paint the inside of a clean jar with white acrylic paint, place the cutout and add color around it so the silhouette shows dark once the light is on. Tuck a string of fairy lights inside and finish the lid with twine and a faux leaf. Any glass jar works, and pickle jars are great.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
11. Beaded Frost Mason Jar Luminaries
Beaded frost luminaries add soft color to a garden path, and they’re made from recycled jars. Paint each jar with an outdoor frost glass paint in a pale shade and let it dry. Fold a length of wire in half, wrap the center around the rim several times and twist it in front, leaving tails for beads. Bend the tails upward, thread on glass beads and curl the ends with round nose pliers so nothing slides off. Light them with tea lights or LEDs, and bring them in before it rains.
Get the full tutorial at Crafts by Amanda.
12. Mason Jar Fairy Lights With Pressed Flowers
Mason jar fairy lights with pressed flowers turn a summer garden haul into a glowing keepsake. Wipe the jar clean and let it dry completely. Lay out pressed flowers and ferns to plan the design, then brush a thin layer of Mod Podge onto one section of glass. Press a flower down gently and brush more Mod Podge over the top, working a section at a time so the glue stays wet. Seal the whole jar, let it dry, then fill it with a string of fairy lights. The petals glow like stained glass.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
13. DIY Mason Jar Lamp
A DIY mason jar lamp starts with a half gallon jar, a lamp kit and mirror effect spray paint for an antique mercury glass finish. Wash and dry the jar, spray on a first coat, then lightly mist it with a half vinegar, half water mix so droplets bead on the surface. After a few minutes, dab the spots with a damp cloth to reveal the speckled, aged look. Repeat for depth, then wire in the lamp kit and top it with a burlap shade trimmed in ribbon. It suits a kitchen counter or a cozy reading corner.
Get the full tutorial at Chatfield Court.
14. DIY Mason Jar Chandelier
A mason jar chandelier turns an old canning rack into a hanging flower garden. Spray paint the rack black to match a length of chain, then hook it up so the jars hang evenly. Green Ball jars give it a vintage feel, but clear ones work just as well. Drape leftover crystals or an old beaded necklace through the bottom for sparkle. Fill each jar with water and fresh flowers, set the jars in the rack and hang it from a porch hook or a shepherd’s crook in the yard.
Get the full tutorial at Redhead Can Decorate.
15. Beaded Hanging Mason Jar Lantern
A beaded hanging mason jar lantern is two projects in one, since the same cradle holds a candle jar or a small potted plant. Cut four 5 foot lengths of fishing line, fold them through a small wooden ring and tape the ring down. Thread glass beads onto pairs of strands in a repeating pattern until they reach about 16 inches, then split the pairs and bead each strand on its own to form the cradle. Knot all eight strands at the bottom, drop in a jar with an LED candle and hang it from a tree.
Get the full tutorial at DIY JOY.
16. DIY Mason Jar Light
DIY mason jar lights hang over a porch seating spot and use one string of tiny fairy lights instead of five separate bulbs. Clean wide-mouth jars and make a hanger for each from grapevine wire, twisting a loop around the neck and leaving a long tail. Fill each jar with a section of the light string, no lid cutting required. Hang the jars at different heights from a cast iron hook with several swivels and wrap the necks with burlap ribbon. Battery fairy lights skip the wiring entirely and are the safer pick.
Get the full tutorial at All Things Heart And Home.
17. Mason Jar Summer Lantern
This mason jar summer lantern has a rope handle and seashell trim, perfect for a beach house look. Hot glue a 16 inch piece of rope to opposite sides of a wide-mouth pint jar, unraveling the ends so they press flat against the glass. Slide a hose clamp over the rope ends at the rim and tighten it with a flat-head screwdriver, then trim the extra rope. Glue a deep shell over the clamp screw to hide it. Pour sand in the bottom, add a candle and tuck a few small shells around it.
Get the full tutorial at Between Naps on the Porch.
18. Broken Seashell Mason Jar
A broken seashell mason jar brings the beach to a summer mantel, a tablescape or a seaside wedding. Brush a generous layer of decoupage glue onto one section of the jar and press on a single layer of crushed shells or faux broken shell vase filler. Let each section dry 20 to 30 minutes before turning the jar, or the pieces will slide. For a half-covered version, mask off the top with painter’s tape first. Tie twine around the neck and add a tea light, or fill it with flowers.
Get the full tutorial at A Pumpkin And A Princess.
19. Mason Jar Solar Lights With Glass Gems
Got a solar yard light with a broken stake? Keep the top, because it’s the whole secret here. The working solar cap sits on a wide-mouth mason jar, and a couple of cups of glass gems in the bottom give it enough weight to stay put on a windy patio table (and they bounce the light around beautifully). No cords, no matches, nobody running outside with a lighter at sunset. Test the light overnight before you glue anything, so you’re not building a lantern around a dead battery.
Get the full tutorial at My Turn for Us.
20. Mercury Glass Mason Jar Solar Lantern
This one looks like it came from a pricey garden shop, and it started as a two-quart mason jar and a few dollars of solar post cap. A spritz of vinegar water and a light coat of mirror effect spray turn the jar into speckled mercury glass. Then it drops into a simple whitewashed wood frame built from scrap 2x2s and 1x4s, with the solar top on as a lid. It’s a weekend build if you own a brad nailer, and a fun first one if you don’t.
Get the full tutorial at Her Tool Belt.
21. Fourth of July Mason Jar Lanterns
Star stickers and a cotton ball do all the work on these patriotic lanterns. You stick the stars on a clean jar, dab blue paint all over with the cotton ball (yes, a cotton ball is the brush), then peel the stickers off once it dries and the stars glow right through. Two more jars get red and white stripes with painter’s tape. Line the three up and you have a little flag on the picnic table. They take about 30 minutes, so the kids can make a set before the fireworks.
Get the full tutorial at One Little Project.
22. Mason Jar Citronella Candles
Mosquitoes, meet your match. These citronella candles are floating wick oil candles, so there’s no wax to melt and no waiting for anything to set. Glass gems or sand go in the bottom so the jar won’t tip, then water, a shallow layer of olive oil and a little citronella oil on top. A cork disc wick floats on the oil and burns slowly for hours. You can have a whole patio set lit before the burgers are off the grill.
Get the full tutorial at Mad in Crafts.
23. Beach in a Jar
Every beach trip ends with a bag of shells and no plan for them, right? Here’s the plan. A little sand goes in the bottom of a jar, then shells, bits of natural sea sponge, a pinch of reindeer moss for seaweed and a few curls of dried grass for the dunes. No paint, no glue, nothing to build. Antique blue Ball jars look especially dreamy, but a new jar works too. Kitchen tongs help you place the shells without knocking everything over.
Get the full tutorial at Sadie Seasongoods.
24. Mason Jar Herb Garden in a Crate
Fresh basil in January? A crate of mason jar herbs on a sunny counter makes that easy. The crate gets two or three coats of chalky paint (plus a stencil or vinyl label if you like), and each quart jar gets a layer of pebbles at the bottom so the roots never sit in water. Then potting mix, your herbs and a cap of peat moss. The trick is going easy on the water, since jars don’t drain. Snip what you need for dinner and leave the rest growing.
Get the full tutorial at Pretty Handy Girl.
25. Solar Mason Jar LED Lights
A dollar store solar light and a drill turn any mason jar into a garden light. You drill one small hole through the lid, pull the solar top off its stake and glue it on so the LED pokes down into the jar. Paint the lid to blend in if you want (tape over the solar panel first). Wide-mouth quart jars give the best fit. It’s about an hour of work and roughly five dollars a jar, and they light up the garden bed all on their own.
Get the full tutorial at Ideas for the Home by Kenarry.
