My son recently had his 4th grade Fall party at school and I was super excited to lead their craft time. I can't tell you how many times my boys have created school projects over the years that have been ripped or crumpled before they can even get home with it. I wanted to come up with a craft that was not only fun to create, but would be a keepsake to put on display for the rest of the Fall season and for years to come. After tossing a few ideas around, I decided to have the kiddos make mason jar luminaries. I always love how candles warm a home and it just seemed like the perfect, welcoming thing to make and enjoy during the Thanksgiving season.
I've learned to always test out an idea when doing a group craft, especially when you have a limited amount of time to accomplish the finished piece. So I hit the craft stores to settle on what supplies I would need and created the sample piece shown above. I absolutely love how it turned out!
How to Create a Mason Jar Luminary
what you'll need:
Smooth Mason Jar
Acrylic Paint + Sponge Brush
Maple Leaf Template
Thin Sharpie Pen
Vinyl Adhesive
Exacto Knife and/or Scissors
Glue Gun
Burlap Ribbon + Twine
Decorative Fall Fillers (I Used Moss and Small Pinecones)
Paper Plate (For Disposable Paint Tray)
LED Tea Light
Companion Cat (Optional)
Step 1: Trace your leaf onto the back of vinyl adhesive with a thin Sharpie pen and cut out with an Exacto knife or scissors.
Step 2: Peel the leaf off from the vinyl adhesive and place onto the smooth mason jar.
Step 3: Using light strokes in one direction, paint the jar with acrylic paint using a sponge brush. I chose to use one coat of paint to give the jar a rustic look. (If you choose for your jar to be completely opaque, paint three coats, and allow to dry completely between each coat.)
Step 4: After paint has dried, carefully peel off the leaf.
Step 5: Secure burlap ribbon with a dot of glue from a glue gun and tie on a piece of twine.
Step 6: Place decorative Fall filler and LED tea light in the bottom of the jar.
If you're doing this craft as a group project, it's helpful to kit the supplies ahead of time. My son and his class had so much fun creating these luminaries before stuffing ourselves with cupcakes and cookies! My kiddo's finished piece is below. He did it all by himself. Didn't it turn out great!?