Mason Jar Solar Lanterns

My mom recently showed me some lanterns that she had made using mason jars, solar lights, rocks, and fake succulents. They don't take a lot to make but look really neat sitting on a patio table or inside on a windowsill.

We decided to try a Christmas variation as well, and I thought I would write up a quick tutorial showing how we made them.

The succulent versions are great for spring, summer, and even fall with pretty purple and orange succulents. The Christmas version was made with salt to look like snow, and some mini bottle brush trees and little Christmas miniatures.

The best part is they were made with mostly things that you can get from the dollar store so they are pretty inexpensive to make. All you need are some mason jars (the bigger the better), the tops of solar light stakes, a little bit of plastic (from a food container lid or something similar), and whatever decorations you want to add.

How to Make Mason Jar Solar Lanterns

You will need:

• Mason Jars (Quart Size or larger)
• Solar lights (one of the examples is made with the top of a mason jar lantern from the dollar store, the other with the top of a solar stake)
• Plastic lid larger than the opening of the jar (or other thin, sturdy plastic that can be cut)
• lantern fillers:
• Succulent version uses rocks and faux succulents from the dollar store
• Christmas version uses salt and Christmas miniatures from the dollar store
• long tongs

Instructions:

Cut a piece of plastic that is the size of the Mason Jar lid, large enough to cover the top but you can screw the ring around it.  Cut a circle out of the center large enough for the bottom of the lantern piece go through and the larger top to sit on. 

Add the decorations. You may need to use long tongs to put the decorations in place, if you use wide mouth jars you may be able to put your hand in to move things around. 

For the succulent jars dump some rocks in the bottom, then add a faux succulent poking it into the rocks. 

For the Christmas version dump some snow into the bottom of the jar. Then carefully place mini bottle brush trees and other miniatures in place on the "snow".