Upcycled Solar Wall Sconces

I have often admired my aunt’s wonderful backyard garden not just for the landscaping, but also for the small upcycled garden items she has spray-painted or reused in some way that provide a little whimsical charm to her outdoor space.

I have often wanted to create some outdoor magic in my landscaping, especially now that we have young grandkids.  Taking a cue from her endeavors, I was inspired to make these easy DIY and upcycled solar wall sconces for my backyard fence.

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As I have mentioned before, I live on a very wooded property, and one challenge we face is having enough lighting at night to walk the dogs. Of course, I could very easily buy some cheap solar lights and randomly put them around my yard and call it done. But my blogger’s heart just needs to keep doing DIY projects and being creative, no matter what. Some of you are nodding your heads at that. 

You get it, I know!  

A quick trip to a thrift store to look for wall sconces gave me solar lights and decorations for my outside area.  With these thrift store treasures I found, I could make these easy DIY upcycled solar wall sconces.

My trip to the thrift store was for one purpose: to find decorative wall sconces or anything else I could use to make some decoration wall art—with solar lights—for my backyard fence. This fence also surrounds the dog pen, and having a set of solar lights out there will be such a blessing.

DIY Upcycled Solar Wall Sconces

Luckily, I hit the thrift store jackpot at my first place and found 3 different sets of wall sconces to use. Combined with inexpensive solar lights from the dollar store, this outdoor solar light project cost me very little. 

The small set with the fleur de lis pattern: I like them just as they are, so I used Gorilla Glue to attach the top portion of the outdoor solar light—which I purchased weeks ago at Walmart for $.97 cents each—to the candle holder space and called that set of lights done.

The other sets of sconces, the more decorative ones, I just wanted to update with spray paint and reuse some of my glass jars, which I refuse to throw in the trash, as globes.

Going through my stash of glass jars, I easily found four matching ones from salsa and cheese dip jars that were the perfect size for my “globes.” I used some Goof Off spray to remove the labels and sticky residue from each jar. Mason jars for solar lights are also a very good idea. 

Next, I took the top portion of the solar lights apart.  That is the only part you need to make these DIY solar lights.  Apply a layer of Gorilla Glue around the top rim of the solar light, and insert the solar light inside the jar, gluing the top to the bottom of the glass jar.

While the glue was drying on the solar lights, I took the wall sconces and the lids of the jars outside to spray paint them vibrant blue.

The color of spray paint I chose from my “stash” is Rust-Oleum Seaside in Gloss.  Because of the curves and angles on the iron sconces, it took several coats to cover them entirely. 

Once the paint was dry, I hung up each sconce on a nail inside my home to make it easier to attach the lids of the jars.  

Decorative solar lights make for incredible fence decorations on an otherwise boring fence.

After allowing the glue to dry for several hours, I could hang them outside in the fenced area.  This proved to be a challenge over several days, as my backyard does not always get a lot of sun on the fence because of all the trees.  So far, I have moved these several times to take advantage of the sun during the day to recharge the solar lights. 

Even though I have to move these around some days to get enough sunlight to charge them, I love how these solar lights turned out and how they help to decorate a boring fence.

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

More gardening and warm weather posts to read and enjoy:

Clay Pot Solar Lights

Spring Projects to beat the Winter Blues

Old Bicycle Garden Planter