Solar Jack O’Lanterns

     

Earlier this summer, I saw a fantastic project that I just had to put on my list.  Amanda at the Hand Me Down House made some Mod Podge solar garden lanterns, and I just loved them!

I loved them so much, I asked my mom to pick up some inexpensive (like $2 each) solar light stakes at the Menard’s in her town.  Took me quite a while to get my hands on those little guys!

Side note: Menard’s is such a cool store!!!  We don’t have any in my state, but if you see one you should definitely check it out.

 

Well, by the time I had everything I needed and was ready to do the project….summer garden lanterns had lost their luster (no pun intended).

But I reheheheally wanted to make some solar lanterns…..so I modified the plan a little and instead made some solar jack o’lanterns!

Yeah, yeah, so it’s a little early for Halloween stuff.  They’ll just be all ready to go once October 1st hits 🙂

First, I took my inexpensive solar lights, and unscrewed the light portion from the stake portion.

 

Then I made sure the light portion would fit on top the opening of some canning jars.

It didn’t fit.  Fell right into the jar.  But I realized I could put the lids back on and the solar piece would still work.  So I just poked a hole right in the middle of the lids for the solar bulb to fit into.

Then I slathered orange-tinted (with food coloring) Mod Podge all over my jars.  My glass jars 🙂 

Amanda used “Outdoor” Mod Podge, but I couldn’t find it, and I’m impatient.  So I used the regular stuff. 

I let them dry, and then I got out the closest thing I have to black puff paint – “Liquid Leading”.  I got this for another project (miserable failure) but it worked great for this one!

I had some fun drawing faces on the jack-o’lanterns….

Sadly, anyone who doesn’t know how many children I have (that would be “none”) will probably assume my kids drew those cute, sloppy little faces.  All the folks with Cricuts and vinyl cutters and such could probably do a much cuter face with vinyl than I could with freehanding the puff paint!

 

Then I used twine and a coat hanger (cut and twisted around the lip of the jar) to make hangers…

Used two dots of hot glue to secure the solar light to the jar lid…

Grabbed some unused garden support stakes…

and moved them outside where they are just DANG cute! 🙂

It’s a pre-October Halloween welcome-wagon!

Trick or Treat?

 

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