Lighten the dark Halloween mood a bit with these simple “jack-‘o-lights” – little luminary lights made of cleaned-out baby food jars! We took our inspiration from the holiday crafts offered by Marci Mohan, Jeanna Palmer and Peggy Simenson in their book Parties with Pizzazz. It’s a simple, fun project that’s easy for children to pitch in on, too. Happy haunting!
Materials
- Clean glass baby food jars (don’t worry about any “sticker glue” from the labels, since you’ll be covering it up)
- Paintbrushes
- Tea lights
- Orange tissue paper
- Black tissue paper (and/or fun foam)
- Glue (Mod Podge, used for decoupage projects, does the trick)
- Bowls
Instructions
- Tear or cut up the orange tissue paper into smaller pieces. Then, on the black tissue paper or fun foam, draw mouth, nose and mouth details and cut them out. Set aside.
- Mix glue and a few drops of water in the bowls. (Note: If using Mod Podge, skip the water.)
- With the paintbrush, spread glue on the outside of the jar, including the rim. Don’t worry about the bottom; you won’t see it.
- Place the pieces of orange tissue paper over the glue until the jar is completely covered. If needed, brush on more glue as you go – especially if you’re facing a few “gaps.”
- Gently brush another coat of glue over the orange tissue paper.
- Finish off your “jack-‘o-light” by sticking on the facial features you pre-cut from the black tissue paper or fun foam. Again, dab on a bit more glue to cement in place (especially if using fun foam).
- Let dry.
- Pop a tea light inside, place outside and watch your flickering “jack-‘o-light” come to life!
This post was originally published in 2011 and has been updated for 2016.
