Painted Mason Jars Hanging Lanterns

Spring is just around the corner and if you are like me you are ready for warm summer nights spent outside on the porch.  My screened porch room is hands down one of my favorite rooms in our house.  During the warm months, I spend more than half my day outside in this room and am very thankful for the screens to keep the bugs out.  However, the current ceiling fan light fixture gives off a harsh light, so I am always looking for ways to add light to the room so I can enjoy it more in the evenings.  One of the ways I have added light to this room is by installing some painted mason jars as hanging lanterns.

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Our family enjoys having meals in the evening in our screened porch.  On a good day, I may even eat all three meals out there and even work at the table to enjoy the sunshine as much as possible.  It is easy to guess that it is our favorite room in the house during the warmer months.

Last year I added a string of decorative lights above since the lights from the ceiling fan are just too harsh for casual dining and sitting.  This year I wanted to add even more decorative lights that I could move around the room to change the mood of the space as needed.

Painted Mason Jar Hanging Lanterns

For this project, you will need:

• Quart-Sized Mason Jars
• Tacky Glue
• Tubes of Food Coloring
• Craft Paint Brushes
• Assorted Acrylic Paints
• Coiled Floral Wire
• Battery Operated String Lights

I wanted the mason jar lanterns to look like stained glass, so I first painted the outsides of them with a mixture of tacky glue and food coloring. This can be a messy job, so definitely allow it to dry overnight.

The next day, you will have these beautiful, colorful jars that are great for letting the lights shine through and look like stained glass. At this point, you can add the coiled floral wire around the top to create a hanger and call it done—OR—you can paint any decorative artwork on it to give it more personality and charm. It’s even better if you have a Cricut machine of any kind and can custom print the graphics on vinyl.  

I decided to give mine some one-of-a-kind painted flowers, ladybugs, and even dog paws (I am very much a dog person).  I painted each of these free-hand, with maybe a few mistakes, but you can opt for stencils or any other way to add your designs.  Even sayings or quotes would be fun, but I didn’t think about that when I was working on them.  Maybe next time…

Mason jar lanterns are so adorable and inexpensive.

When I priced string lights at other stores, the prices ranged from $5 – $9 for just one strand.  Instead,  I found these adorable mini solo cup lights for only $1 at Dollar Tree. They may only have five lights on each strand, but I got a strand for all eight jars for less than what it would have cost me to purchase one strand at any other store.  I like that price tag much better.   Which was important to keep the entire project cost very low when I first made these outdoor lanterns.  Since then, the investment in more expensive and brighter LED lights has been well worth the extra cost.

The hangers were easy to make out of the coiled floral wire by twisting one length of wire around the ring of the jar, and then looping a second length of wire through the first one.

Don’t have any mason jars available?  Rescue any glass jar from the trash bin and make your own version of these lanterns.  They are such a fun and purposeful way to reuse any jar in the house.

A few of them I didn’t hang up but just let them sit on the window sills. I think these will become one of my favorite mason jar crafts so far because I just love how they look all lit up.

There is just something I have always loved about a mason jar and using it in my home decor and in any new way possible. These hand-painted mason jar lanterns are one of my favorite projects. They are fun, useful, and whimsical. I hope you find this inspiring to try making your own version for your outdoor spaces.  

This year, I will make my new version of mason jar lanterns with my new Cricut Joy machine, so I can test how well the vinyl holds up outdoors. Wish me luck!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  1 Timothy 4:7

More posts to visit and enjoy with mason jars crafts:

Mason Jar Lid Pumpkins

Decorative Mason Jar Wraps