Decorating recycled Christmas jam jar lanterns is a fabulous way to cheaply and easily create really special handcrafted gifts that will be treasured every time a candle is lit. Tissue paper, silhouette stickers, pressed flowers or leaves, a bit of jute garden twine, and some PVA glue will make a wonderful lantern. If instead of candles you decide to use a short string of fairy lights, I also have the instructions for the cutest jam jar fabric lids.
Many years ago, in around 2017, I started making lanterns for the garden. I found they were really wonderful, unique, and incredibly easy to make. Plus, the amount of chaos over order in the applying of tissue ensured the end result was always an aesthetic surprise, they always
came out stunning. I have never listed the lanterns on Etsy because they are too big and made of glass, so the boxes would have to be huge to accommodate the vast amount of packing needed for safe transit. I sold most of them at local craft fairs. some I gifted to friends, and after the clear-out earlier in the year I gathered together all the bowls and jars I had collected, and oh boy, there are soooo many. So, with 30 large chip shop pickle jars, 40 sauce jars, and 23 plastic fishbowls, I decided to decorate them all, as varied as possible, to sell at fairs. I can't stand doing craft fairs, but I think these will sell well as they will be very cheap; after all, it's part of my spring clean.
Glass is wonderful, as it can be see-through, frosted, coloured, or blocked out completely, and so before starting to decorate a glass jar; consider
1 Complete coverage.
2 Anything solid will create interesting shadows.
3 Clear glass can be part of the design.
4 How will the lantern look when the light isn't on
Below you can see a set of three fully covered lanterns in layered blue, white, and a slash of green. The jars are really lovely, but I would need to tone down the size of the jute bowls; they are too big and should be a lot simpler to prevent distraction from the jars and bowls.
(Please excuse these production photos, they are really old, when my carpet and a wooden chest were my photo studio setting)
Basic glue rules
PVA glue mixed with water in different proportions for different uses is really effective, and I
use PVA a lot in all my crafts. It is great to put a toothpick full of glue into a jute twine knot, so when it is pulled tight and sets, you have a single, small knot that is set firm and will never come undone. Neat, tidy, and an invisible, strong bond. PVA can even be used on fabric to make lino, (a story for another time), with layers built up until the fabric is firm.
Here are the different ratios of glue to water I have found work the best:
1 Tissue paper on glass: 4 parts glue, 1 part water, so its like double cream.
2 Final sealing of glass: pure PVA
3 To secure knots: pure PVA
4 Fabric jar lids: 2 parts glue, 2 parts water (several applications).
PVA on glass will dry frosted, so mask off for clear, clean glass, or cut and peel off the unwanted dry PVA .
Always keep your paintbrush wet, because as it dries it will become sticky, lifting your applications and causing a real mess.
Let each layer set dry before adding an extra layer, checking there are no air bubbles. Making a few lanterns at a time is a quicker process, as by the time you have done a bit of work on a few jars, the first one will be virtually dry and you can add the next bits.
Adding silhouettes
This lantern example has pressed daisies glued first onto the glass, allowed to dry, then I added a layer of tissue squares and a few large circles of tissue. The jar opening is raw as this lantern is not finished yet, and the candle is too big and glaring, but I do think the green checked lid below, maybe its partner. Equally, I could have used a sharpie to draw on a daisy flower, but I like the slight texture of the pressed flower. It seems to make it more organic and handmade. Grasses and autumn leaves also press really well.
When adding silhouettes, the possibilities are endless. Stickers, pressed flowers or leaves, and drawn on designs all have their merits, but remember the strongest silhouettes will be where the fairy lights/candle light is. I only add things to the outside of the jars, never on the inside.
Tissue Paper can be torn or cut into different shapes like circles, squares, and stripes, or randomly torn.
The glories of tissue are that:
1. Overlapped colours will make new colours
2. One colour repeatedly layered creates great depth and rich colours
Here is a list of things I use when decorating lanterns:
Newspapers: keep the work area really clean, it can become very sticky and messy, very quickly
PVA: I mix mine in a little kilner jar, so the airtight lid keeps the glue fresh for next time
Jars: Wash clean, making sure all old labels are removed and that it is 100% dry
Tissue: Acid free tissue sheets, all colours
Scissors and paintbrushes, kept glue free
Hot glue gun and jute twine to finish the raw edges, or to add as a feature
Stickers, pressed flowers, and sharpies for a silhouette feature
Tinsel wool, jingle bells, coloured cotton threads, and Christmas embellishments for the finishing touch.
Christmas Lanterns ideas
As a rule, I don't make traditional Christmas things, but if I do, I like to use an alternative colour palette. White, grey and blue offers a traditionally contemporary colour range, with added lilac or purple really works. I also like burgundy and cream, or fir green and cream, both classed as Vintage Christmas, and where jingle bells are concerned I like an antique bronze bell. Christmas doesn't have to be shocking red, green, and gold, as this lantern on the right shows. I am currently working on a tartan effect, where strips of tissue are laid at 90 degrees over each other. Red and green would not work, unless you're after a brown colour where the two colours cross over, or unless you can keep the green and red from touching, which is doable, To see what overlapped tissue paper colours will look like, hold them up to a window during daytime, or a lamp at night. The light behind the tissue will show you what it will look like Below are some of my festive things, of untraditional but rustic Christmas decorations, where even my robins aren't red, but the true burnt orange that they are..
Glass lanterns can be made from any glass jar, whether it is a sauce jar from the kitchen, or something bought from the charity shop. Many a tall pasta jar with the lid removed will make for a great over-sized lantern. And once your jar is decorated, it doesn't have to have a candle or lights in it. You could make it into a holly and evergreen centrepiece, a vase for red Christmas roses or a lovely jar to pass around with the Quality Street in. I have also worked out a away to make really great, well-fitting fabric covered lids for any size jam jar.
Jam jar fabric lids
1. Cut a card disc 1mm wider than the jar top.
2. Cut a fabric square, double the size of the card disk.
3. Using pure PVA coat the disc, glue to the centre of the fabric. Using watered down PVA coat the whole of the fabric. Let it dry.
4. Put the fabric and disc on top of the jar, use an elastic band to hold it in place, and adjust the ruffles so even around the jar rim.
5. Mix PVA 50% with water. Sparingly apply several coats, drying between each application
6. Remove elastic band, gently ease the shaped fabric off the jar; it should be rigid and hold its shape.
7. Apply a two coats of pure PVA, let each dry.
8. Check the lid sits cosily on the jar; add a few bands of jute twine to firm up the neck, with a bow held in place with PVA, using masking tape to hold the bow in place until the glue sets.
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