Crafty in the Kitchen: Mason Jar Lanterns

If there’s one thing I’m full of (aside from, at the moment, a load of cookies and nine too many pizza rolls), it’s good intentions. I know this because I have reminders of them all around me. There are heaps of fabric scraps from the baby blanket I intended to sew for my first-born son (he’s now 4.) There are partly-filled-out charts from the 3 months of P90x I intended to do. There are pairs of size 6 jeans in my closet from the 15lbs I intended to lose. And I’ve had empty frames on one wall of my house for almost a year now. Yup. Intended to fill them. Another thing I have sitting around? Mason jars. Lots of mason jars from all of that food I intended to preserve. Ask me how many jars I canned. Really, ask. None! This is the reason I get giggly when discovering a use for them that’s anything but their intended purpose. Exhibit A. My friend Wendy recently sent me a picture of her little Halloween lanterns and I loved them so much I made them that very same day. A big thanks to my friend Britanie, too, who let me come steal a couple of larger jars when I realized that my Halloween lantern display would be infinitely cuter with some size variety. These little guys are popping up on crafty blogs everywhere, but I especially liked the cute monster faces that Wendy found on Not So Idle Hands (fun blog–go check out her craftiness!) so I made those. The bonus? These mason jar lanterns are a really fast project. So if you intend to finish them in a day, you totally can! Supplies: Mason Jars, any size Tissue paper Mod Podge Paint Brush Glue Ribbon or paint for the tops (explained below) Start by cutting your tissue paper into strips about 1-2 inches wide. Brush a thin layer of mod podge on the glass jar and stick a strip of tissue to it. Take more mod podge and brush on top of it, sealing it onto the jar. Work one strip at a time until you cover the entire jar. I covered the bottom as well and on the top I went a little above the rim just to make sure there wasn’t any plain glass peeking through when I put a ribbon around the top. Place your jar upside down to dry. Keep working until you finish however many jars you’re going to do. As your jars are drying, work on your faces. Cut out faces from black paper and use a glue stick to glue them onto the jars. I waited until the jars were dry before gluing on the faces. I also tried attaching them just with mod podge and they didn’t stay. For the silly monster faces, I used these as a guidline, available from Not So Idle Hands. Look how cute! For the tops you can use paint to paint around the rims, or you can do what I did and attach a piece of ribbon. I love how they look in my windowsill. Just the sunlight coming through lights them right up! And even on a cold, rainy day like the picture below, they still have a warm glow to them. And then at night, they turn into great little lanterns when you put a candle inside. I’ve seen people stuff a string of white Christmas lights inside as another option but I can’t resist the look of a flickering candle. The little artificial tea lights work great for these too. If you’re using real candles, be careful because the jars get hot! Do you love it?? I can’t get over how cute they are, and you could definitely use the same method for other themes too. So go get your craft on this weekend and cook something yummy to go with it! Good munchy food for crafting: Caramel Corn Monster Munch Ginger Spice Cookies Goblin Grub Cinnamon Bun Caramel Corn Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies PS. If you’re looking for something to do this weekend you might want to stop by here. Like maybe perhaps on Sunday. Cuz I dunno… there just might just be a bonus post. And it just might include a giveaway. And the giveaway might involve a large sum of cash. Ooops, did I just say that out loud?? Don’t tell Kate I spilled the beans!

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