Mason Jar Solar Lights

Saw this article on one of the gardening blogs I read and thought it was too good not to share. It is a great use for inexpensive solar patio lights and chipped canning jars. -- Terri



Using just three materials and a wee bit of time you will quickly have stylish mason jars to light up the garden or patio on these late summer nights.

Materials

mason jars with rings
stake solar light
double sided foam tape or glue

Directions

1. The most challenging this project will ever get is finding the solar lights that have removable tops and the pretty mason jars to fit them. This took me all of 10 minutes. I bought the lights at a grocery store for $2 each and have a large collection of jars that I sort5ed through until I found the right ones.

2. As the solar light was a bit smaller than the mason jar ring, I used a piece of double sided foam tape to make it just a smidge wider and it fit inside perfectly.

3. Don’t remove the paper off the other side of the tape so that the light can be removed from the jar. There is often an on/off switch on the light that you will still want to access. Alternatively, glue the light to the top inside of the ring to make a solid cap that can be removed.

4. Set out in the sun for 4-8 hours and your new jars will light up the night.

More step-by-step photos at the link: http://gardentherapy.ca/mason-jar-solar-lights/

Thanks for sharing that. What a great idea!

Nice...need to try this one.

Thanks for posting this TerriHaute. I picked up 6 solar lights (Westinghouse) at work yesterday for 99 cents each. Now to find the mason jars and some double-sided tape!

Tell me more about the lights themselves please!!! I've seen the ones where you put htem in the ground for lighting a foot path but not sold otherwise.

K-

Those solar foot path lights are the ones I bought, packyderms_wife. The Westinghouse ones come apart easily from the spike so you can pull the tab that keeps the battery from being on before purchase and placement. It's the top part that you use. Some instructions suggest that you either paint the black case that holds the battery to give better reflection. There are different ways to do this project depending on what kind of light diffusing you desire. I've seen some mason jars that have a special paint (glass frosting spray) inside them to soften the glare of the light. Here's a few links of people showing how they did it: http://www.tablefornine.com/2012/05/mason-jar-solar-lights.html http://indulgy.com/post/uNMhBuz6F1/diy-mason-jar-solar-lights http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/homemadesunjar/

Signwatcher said:

Thanks for posting this TerriHaute. I picked up 6 solar lights (Westinghouse) at work yesterday for 99 cents each. Now to find the mason jars and some double-sided tape!

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Please post pics when you get finished, I'd love to see how they turn out! I think these would make attractive patio lights but they would also be good to have on hand in case of a power outage. You wouldn't be able to read by them, but they would give enough light to let you see your way around inside your home at night.

I don't know when I am going to be able to get to it. We are in the middle of moving right now....the absolute longest move in history (waiting for the bank to kick us out) so I may not get to it until I find my mason jars and/or need the lights. LOL! I did see a pic somewhere on the net where a guy grouped three of them together on some kind of former lamp stand that had three branches on it. Another guy used a tree for an outdoor patio light set up. It also had three branches on it. A grouping might produce enough light to read by.

Great idea! With end of summer clearances going on, they may be even cheaper. Thank you!

A good idea. I have a question about the outside solar lights. My daughter gave me two boxes of the out door lantern lights for Mother's Day. Four to a box. I put them out in June and by August, only one of the eight was still lighting up at night. They weren't the cheap ones, she got them at Target. I threw the boxes away when I put them out so I don't have any of the "directions" or "manual" sheets that were in the box. Anyway, is there a battery in the light that can be replaced or do you think I am just out of luck? If there is a battery, would it be in the lid or in the lightbulb itself? I have a light I bought at the Dollar General two years ago and it has burned consistently every night since I put it out. Guess I could take one in to Target and see if someone there could help me, but I haven't had time to go there this entire summer.

Shotsie said:

A good idea. I have a question about the outside solar lights. My daughter gave me two boxes of the out door lantern lights for Mother's Day. Four to a box. I put them out in June and by August, only one of the eight was still lighting up at night. They weren't the cheap ones, she got them at Target. I threw the boxes away when I put them out so I don't have any of the "directions" or "manual" sheets that were in the box. Anyway, is there a battery in the light that can be replaced or do you think I am just out of luck? If there is a battery, would it be in the lid or in the lightbulb itself? I have a light I bought at the Dollar General two years ago and it has burned consistently every night since I put it out. Guess I could take one in to Target and see if someone there could help me, but I haven't had time to go there this entire summer.

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Those patio-type solar lights have batteries that can be replaced. Typically they are the NiCad rechargeable type about the size of a AA, available at places like Lowes and Home Depot and even Amazon. The battery would be under the lid. If you examine one of your lights closely, you should be able to figure out how to pop the lid off. Googled these instructions, hope it helps: http://www.solarlightsplusmore.com/replacing_solar_light_batteries/

I keep our solar patio lights going all year round and bring some inside when we have power outages. They are not that bright but they keep us from walking into walls at night.

neat idea. thanks for sharing.

Thanks for giving me that information. I also used them throughout the house back at the end of June when we had a terrible storm system go through our area and knock out the electricity for a number of days.

May have to give this a try, have some extra jars with the narrow mouths, shifted all my canning to wide mouth ones. Thanks for the post.

I like this! Thank you for sharing.

Be sure to look for sales on the rechargeable batteries for the solar lights. I can attest that they do not last forever. These batteries are more expensive than normal, so start watching Lowes and Home Depot sales.