I've seen dozens of solar lights made out of mason jars. You can even buy kits now with all the items needed to make them. I got to thinking what works for mason jars has to work for other jars just as easily and some other jars are prettier, too!
Like this thrift store apothecary jar.
I made this as a gift for a summer birthday awhile back. It was a big hit and it couldn't have been simpler to do! First of all find a jar with a glass lid that will be the approximate size, or larger, of the top part of an inexpensive $1 solar light like the one below.
In this case the inexpensive solar light is 2" across and the glass lid for the jar I chose is just a bit bigger.
I did a dry run with the solar light and the lid using toothpicks for spacers on three sides. I left it outside for 24 hours and it lit up nicely!
I hot glued Dollar Store twine around the neck of the jar.
I also hot glued a strip of textured wall paper around the solar light and painted the flat top around the solar cell to blend into the twine and the wallpaper. See how well the solar light is hidden inside the jar lid? I also cut off the clear plastic collar at the bottom of the light with a dremel tool.
I hot glued the refurbished light inside the lid. Since the lid protects the hot glue from the weather it works well for this project. The wallpaper wrap makes it a snug fit so I didn't need to use the toothpick shims.
I added a cork and bead pendant tied with more twine then put a few sea shells, cork slices and sea glass in the bottom of the jar. Here it is lit up inside my house as the sun went down. Pretty!
Here are a few other thrift store jars that would work really well for this project.
They must have a glass lid so the solar light can charge and be big enough for the light to fit inside the lid. You can use hot glue to attach the light to the inside of the top of the lid or E6000 glass adhesive for a really good bond.
Solar jar lanterns couldn't be easier to make and they are so very very pretty on a summer night!
