The air has turned crisp here and I’m thinking about pumpkins, candy corn, autumn leaves, and Halloween. I have a big porch, so I thought it would be fun to decorate it with easy Mason Jar luminaries in various fall colors and themes. They are SO simple to make, but they have a big impact when you light them up at dusk.
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Easy Mason Jar Luminaries Materials
- Glass Jars, quart-size (if you go larger or smaller, you can always resize your decorations larger or smaller, too!)
- Acrylic paint (yellow, red, and black)
- Paintbrush
- Black vinyl (to cut on a Cricut) or black paint (acrylic or Sharpie marker)
- Tealights (wax or LED)
- Clear acrylic sealer
- Design #49 – Decoration templates (you can download mine from my free resource library — request the password at the bottom of this post)
How to Make Easy Mason Jar Luminaries
First, decide if you’re going to use vinyl or black paint to paint your decorations on your glass jars). I love my Cricut, so I’m making black vinyl decorations, but I’ll also tell you how to do it with black paint.
If you’re going to use black vinyl jar decorations, cut them out now. If you’re going to use black paint, print out the decorations now.
Next, wash your Mason Jars well to get off any dust and oil.
For those using black paint, place the printed template INSIDE the jar and trace the outline of your decoration onto the outside using a black marker.
Paint the entire outside of your jar with acrylic paint. I like the way acrylic paint looks on the Mason Jar when it’s lit up, because it looks a little streaky and I think that works well for autumn and spooky themes! If you don’t like the streaky look, feel free to use spray paint instead.
Allow all of your painted jars to dry. I waited two hours before I applied my vinyl.
Now either paint over the marker lines with black paint (if you can’t see through the jar, just hold it up the light) or apply your black vinyl over your painted jar.
Spray clear acrylic sealer over the whole thing to protect your paint!
Put in an tealight (wax or LED), light it up, and enjoy!
Love,
Like this tutorial? Please pin it to your favorite Pinterest craft board!
Great decoration idea! I can add this to my Halloween project and decorate with pumpkins, leaves and those beautiful jars. You can also add some skulls or bats as a decoration,