Mason Jar Hanging Solar Lantern

I created this Mason Jar Hanging Solar Lantern tutorial with compensation from Collective Bias, Inc and its advertiser. All opinions are my alone. #ProjectAmazing #CollectiveBias This post may contain affiliate links.

Bonfires are one of the reasons why us Minnesotans live for summer. A permanent bonfire pit was one of the first projects on my list when we moved into our first house.

We’ve got the bonfire pit, but now we needed some lighting to show the way up our deck stairs and back into the house. Mood lighting is where it’s at. The flood light on the back side of the house really kills the chill mood of a relaxing bonfire.

I made a Dreamlight with a mason jar and loved the way that had turned out, so I thought that there must be a way to combine an outdoorsy type of lighting with the ever popular mason jar.

DIY Mason Jar Hanging Solar Lantern Supplies

• 2.5″ width solar lights
• half-pint size mason jars
• Command™ small hooks
• 18 gauge wire
• Needle-nose pliers

 

STEP ONE

Take the stake and plastic housing off your solar light. All you need is the solar sensor, battery holder, and light itself.
 

STEP TWO

In order to make sure the light would fill the top of the jar, I bought solar lights that were just barely too big to fit inside the jar. All I did was remove most of the plastic ring around the outside by snapping it off with a needle-nose pliers (don’t worry about being neat and tidy, you can’t tell once the light is inside the jar).
 

STEP THREE

STEP FOUR

Wrap the wire under the lip of the lid and above the lip of the jar. There should be a space there because you shouldn’t twist the lid on too tight. Twist one loose end of the wire up closing the circle. Then, leave about 10″ of additional wire and trim it off the spool with a wire cutter. Take that end and attach to to the opposite side of the wire circle and twist it up as you did with the other side.
 

Now we can hang our lanterns using small Command™ hooks. I wanted to light the steps of our deck but I also didn’t want to damage the posts with nail holes. Command™ products make damage-free hanging a breeze.

They are quite easy to attach. First I cleaned the posts with rubbing alcohol to remove any dust and debris, attached the strip, and then attached the hook to the strip by pressing firmly. They’re nice and strong and held the lanterns perfectly!

For more amazing summer project ideas, check out the 3M Project Amazing site! What would you create with the Scotch® Brand and Command™ products?