Mason Jar Solar Lights

Mason Jar Solar Lights

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.

(here:http://www.lightingole.com/led-strips-and-string.html)

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 sorted through until I found the right ones.

Update for those who want specifics: I bought the lights at the Real Canadian Superstore but I have also seen them at Target, WalMart and Dollar stores as well. The best time to find them is when the seasonal outdoor products are stocked. 

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. I particularly love the reflection of the label on the wood below.

As a side note, check out how cool the moon is. While it was difficult to get a clear photo, the huge full moon was kind enough to pose in the perfect spot for these pictures.

Thanks for visiting Weekend Project See all the previous projects by clicking the tab at the top of this page.

Update: For those of you who have been asking here is a collection of pretty mason jars if you can’t find the antique ones. There is also a company who makes solar lids specifically for mason jars – who knew!? 

If you liked this project, you will LOVE these mason jar crafts!

And these homemade citronella CANdles! Check out how to make them here.

DIY MASON JAR LIGHT

DIY MASON JAR LIGHT

Do you remember the screen porch makeover I finished a few weeks ago? The lighting I decided on for for early morning coffee and late night porch time was this easy DIY Chandelier…(here:Solar string light)

The little chandy is almost perfect. Almost.

See, I have my quiet time on the porch before the sun comes up and if I sit in my comfy chair I can’t see to read my Bible or write in my prayer journal! The Husband reads the Bible from his iPad so he doesn’t have a problem with the light, it’s my chair that needed a little illumination!

Soooo, I came up with this easy little Mason Jar light to hang right over my chair on the porch…it’s perfect in the early morning and at night it’s like I’m catching fireflies…

At first I wasn’t certain exactly what I’d do, I just knew I needed a light. To get my creative juices flowing I took a little field trip to Hobby Lobby…

Do you guys do that…go to a craft or home improvement store and wander the aisles until one idea leads to another and before long a project comes together? Anyhoo, not knowing exactly what my light would look like, only that I needed to make one, I spotted the Mason Jars. Hobby Lobby has individual wide mouth large Mason Jars(5)that made me think they’d be perfect for inserting a string of (100) tiny white string lights…

Because the light would be going on the screen porch, I wanted to make certain I kept with the rustic feel of the grapevine sphere chandelier already hanging over the table. This grapevine wire seemed like a good idea for hanging the mason jars and of course I picked up some burlap ribbon because I always find use for burlap ribbon!

But …how would I hang the mason jars?

After a few minutes of looking through the hardware look what I found!

These cast iron swivel hooks…now I was getting a visual!

Here’s the 411 :

* 5 large mouth Mason Jars

* Grapevine Wire

* Burlap Ribbon

* 100 White Lights

* 100 White Lights

* Cast Iron Swivel Hooks

To make the hangers for the jars just twist the grapevine wire around a pencil…

Then around the mouth of the jar…

Twist…

And bring the grapevine wire up and around and attach it to the little ring you made to begin with.

I put the top ring back on just to better secure the grapevine wire…

Now for the fun part! Hang your hook wherever you want it and get out those pretty white lights…

Decide how you want the lights to hang, I did mine in the shape of a cluster of grapes

Since some of the jars needed to hang lower, I used burlap ribbon to get them to the right place. The burlap ribbon also softened the overall look of the light.

When they were hanging just so, I tucked in my white lights…this took several tries to find the best order as it coincided with the plug!

The Husband put an adapter on our existing porch light (it turns a light socket into an electrical socket) so the mason jar light is controlled by a light switch

but you could easily run an extension cord down the wall in a corner or along your trim-just use one of those cords you can step on to turn on and off!

I love the new light, it’s perfect for my coffee/quiet time in the morning!

There are a hundred ways you could design a mason jar light, if you decide to do one I’d love to see a picture!

Sending love to you my sweet friends ox

YOU MIGHT LIKE…

DIY Porch Chandelier 

Mason Jar Flower/Candle Chandelier

Mason Jar Christmas Light

Mason Jar Snow Globes

How to Get a Greenhouse Started in Your Backyard You May Like

How to Get a Greenhouse Started in Your Backyard You May Like 

If you've been contemplating purchasing or building a greenhouse to extend your gardening season, go for it. Growing plants in a greenhouse might seem a little intimidating at first, but it's pretty much the same as caring for plants outside. The difference is you'll need to water your plants on your own since you won't be able to depend on the rain like you would with a traditional garden. If you are worried about bees being able to get in to pollinate your plants, don't. They'll get in through the ceiling vents and doorways.(mavis butterfield)


Greenhouses come in all shapes, sizes and prices, but ideally you'll want to buy the largest greenhouse you can afford. If you're a traditionalist and have the funds available you'll probably want to go the old fashioned glass greenhouse route for aesthetic reasons. If you don't live in a neighborhood with strict Homeowners Association restrictions, building an unheated plastic greenhouse is a great option for the DIY types and budget conscious crowd.

Ideally, greenhouse temperatures should be around 80 degrees during the daytime and just above 50 degrees at night during the summer months. Ceiling and side vents can be used to help regulate greenhouse temperatures and keeping the vents open in the summer months will help with air circulation.

led grow lights

Here are several reasons why you may choose to grow your leafy greens under led lights. 1- you may not have a readily accessible sunny window ledge or you may not have enough of them. I have a kitchen window ledge that gets good sun in summer but very little in winter. 2- using our desk light series you can use the lights to grow your sprouts as well as light the work area of the desk (the shade rotates to adjust the spread of light). A great break from work to look up and see your salad growing in front of you, or on your kitchen bench shedding extra light on your chopping board.. 3-you may have a large family or like me like lots of salad so you can easily turn a bookshelf into your own personal salad farm. 4- as mentioned before growing sprouts inside is very convenient and free from animal and insect competition, growing under lights gives you flexibility as to where you do it with limited space, and growth rates are not affected by season, making having an indoor garden that much easier. 5- using the latest low wattage, high intensity LED grow lights, gives you even more options as it is now not only much cheaper to run, 7W vs 15W-28W, 90W vs 400W-600W(salad greens), they can also be used to grow vegetables to flower & fruit in very short periods of time. eg Tomatoes, Strawberries etc.
http://www.lightingole.com/led-lights/led-grow-lights.html

mavis butterfield
Growing Vegetables Year Round

If you plan on growing vegetables during the winter months you'll need to keep plants above freezing (40 - 45 degrees is ideal for varieties such as spinach, lettuce and carrots to thrive). The use of row covers or installing a small heater in a greenhouse will help keep plants above freezing temperatures and help with any humidity problems which may incur.mavis butterfield
Go Crazy, There are No Rules!

One of the joys of owning a greenhouse is that you can do whatever you want, so get creative. Want to try growing herbs or lettuce greens in rain gutters? Go for it. Try growing citrus if it's something you're curious to try. The key with any hobby (especially gardening) is the joy that comes with trial and error. Most seed packets only cost a dollar or two, so experimenting on what to grow in your greenhouse is some seriously cheap entertainment.mavis butterfield
Starting Seedlings in a Greenhouse

Getting a jump start on growing seedlings before the temperatures start to warm up outside is just one of the many benefits of owning a greenhouse.

Cold hardy seeds like cabbage, broccoli, Swiss chard and lettuce greens can be sowed during the late winter months for an early spring harvest. You can start tomatoes and peppers in early spring and once the weather warms up you'll be able to move them out to the garden. Not only will your plants be bigger and better than anything you could buy at the home improvement store, but they'll taste better, too, because they were grown with love.mavis butterfield
Greenhouse Maintenance

The great thing about cleaning a greenhouse is there is no need for fancy chemicals. You'd be surprised how quickly tree pollen, algae and fungus can build up on both your interior and exterior window panes. Simply clean your greenhouse at least once or twice a year with a scrub brush and hot soapy water. Greenhouse cleaning time is also the perfect opportunity to clean out all your greenhouse pots and trays as well, especially if you plan on gardening during the winter months when you need to maximize the light shining into your greenhouse.



Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_12340127_green-house-gardening-101.html

A SUNNY DISPOSITIONCREAMY BEET LINGUINE

A SUNNY DISPOSITIONCREAMY BEET LINGUINE

AUTHOR: JOSHUA RHODESBUDGET: $HOME DECORONE DAY PROJECTOUTDOOR SPACES


Party lights, Christmas lights, string lights—so many different names, but we can all agree on one thing: lights make an outdoor space at least 96% more inviting. I'm going to tell you a couple of hints/tips about hanging lights in your outdoor space. These lights were really the icing on the cake for the party alcove. Icing can be the best part, 'specially on a carrot cake... Now I want cake.

Supplies:
-party lights (we used interior/exterior lights from Amazon, but shop around, you can find good deals).
-exterior extension cord (optional)

Tools:
-measuring tape
-staple gun
-step ladder

Step One: The best place to start is to measure your space. Grab a buddy to hold the end of the tape, measure, and go to town. You might want to just hang the lights around the perimeter of your space. We chose to go the crisscross method; maybe there's even a third option you could try ;)

Here are some things to take into consideration when hanging party lights:
Do you have an outlet available?
Could you run an extension cord from inside?
Is there material to attach your lights to (e.g., awnings, fencing, tree, etc.)?
How many people are you going to invite to your party when you're done?


Step Two: I chose to use a staple gun to hang these lights. The entire time I was thinking about that scene from the movie Christmas Vacation. You know what scene I'm talking about. I started at the opposite end of where I wanted to end (I feel pretty ridiculous writing that). But it's true; I had to take account for where the plug was going to end up. When I was stapling, I made sure not to staple through the wire, using about two staples per end. Since I ended up using three strands of lights for the space, I had to plug them into each other. I tied the connecting ends into sort of a knot so they wouldn't come apart.

Be careful not to drop the strands and break bulbs; they are super fragile, as glass tends to be. The instructions that came with the product actually recommend that you remove all bulbs before putting up the strands.

I tried to keep the strands somewhat taut, but not so much that I was straining the staples. If you do decide to do the crisscross method, make sure to keep the strands far enough from each other that if a nice wind picks up, the bulbs won't swing into each other. Since we didn't have an outdoor outlet available, I had an exterior extension cord plugged in nearby that I could snake through a window at a moment's notice and plug into.

Nothing real groundbreaking here, but maybe if you see how easy it is to hang some outdoor lights, you'll give it a try! Let me know if you have any questions. Now, about that cake... -Josh

Outdoor solar lights were some of the first alternative-energy products to gain a mass-market foothold.

Outdoor solar lights were some of the first alternative-energy products to gain a mass-market foothold. Today, sunlight-powered fixtures are flooding the landscape and garden lighting market.

How solar lights work

Solar lights have three main components:
Solar panels: Gather sunlight and convert it to electrical power.
Batteries: Store electrical power generated by the panel. Expect 6-10 hours of illumination from a fully-charged solar light battery.
LED bulbs: LED (light emitting diodes) are super-efficient, shine very brightly, and are long-lasting.

The upside of outdoor solar lights
You don’t have to worry about plugging in your lights or running wires to your outdoor solar fixtures.
You don’t have to change bulbs on solar lights, thanks to super-long-lasting LEDs.
Your utility company doesn’t get a dime from you when you get your nighttime shine from stored sun-power.

The downside

Outdoor solar lights don’t really have a lot of downsides. However, if you live in a cloudy climate, or if you’ve just experienced a long haul of rainy and overcast weather, the brightness and longevity of the lighting may be affected.

Also, solar lights cost more at the outset because they’re complex and have expensive components.

Types of outdoor solar lighting

String lights come in various lengths, such as 25 and 50 feet, and usually have 2-6 bulbs per foot, depending on the manufacturer. There are many styles, colors, and sizes of bulbs to choose. They’ve become popular as Christmas lights, but you can use them to light up your outdoor living spaces all year round.

You should know: Solar string lights don’t need regular household electrical current, but they’re attached by wire to a small solar panel — make sure the panel has access to as much sunlight as possible.

Cost: $20-$40 for a 25-foot strand.

Border and driveway lights illuminate walkways and the edges of driveways for safety and convenience.
Stake lights are self-contained — the solar panel is built into the fixture. They’re easy to install: You simply push the stake into the ground. You’ll find a big variety of styles, from modern to traditional; some even change colors as they glow. Cost: Color-changing stake lights: $40 for a light that’s 20 inches tall and 6 inches wide.
Stepping stone lights glow from within and are rugged enough for regular foot traffic. Cost: $25-50 each.
Paver lights can be installed in your driveway paving material. They’re made of glass or acrylic, and they’re tough enough that you can drive right over them. Cost: $32 for a 6-by-6-inch light.

Glowing globes are spherical sun-powered lamps that make chic architectural additions to your landscape lighting scheme. Stake them in your yard, float them in your pool or make them border beacons — no matter, you’ll enjoy the glowing-orb goodness.

You should know: Color-changing globe lights have three modes: off, “color mode” (which cycles through the spectrum), and “white mode” for simply glowing light.

Cost: Glowing globes, $29-$49; half-globe path lights, $7.99 each





Safety and security lights are ready to shine when the sun goes down.
Motion-detector lights switch on when the sensor detects movement; the range and direction of the sensor is adjustable. Because they don’t shine all the time, the battery for a solar-powered motion-detector should have a charge that lasts all night.
Solar-lit house numbers come in many shapes and styles. A sunlit address isn’t just aesthetically smart — if you ever need emergency services to find you after dark, your street number will be plainly visible.

You should know: A spate of sunless days could leave your motion-detecting security light off-line — a chance you take any time you go solar.

Cost: Security lights, $79.99 to $120; house numbers, $15 and up, depending on design.

Outdoor lamps light up your evening outdoor activities with style, and you won’t have to drape an extension cord over your deck and lawn.



Credit: Plow & Hearth
Table lamps bring a bit of indoor functionality to your outside living spaces. Put them anywhere for a dash of living room panache.
Lamp posts are permanent installations for pathways, garden benches, and the bottom of deck stairways.

You should know: Some solar table lamps do include an electrical plug-in option as well as a solar panel.

Cost: Solar table lamps are $20 and up, depending on size and materials; $600-$1,000 for 9-foot high multi-fixture lamp post.

Outdoor Solar Lighting Ideas for the Garden

Outdoor Solar Lighting Ideas for the Garden

I think I've mentioned before, my mothers day gift this year was yard work. I definitely got my "money's worth" out of that gift. It took my hubby a couple of weekends to finish the makeover on our little side garden. Ipitched in a little when we were shoveling and spreading the rock and choosing plants, but that is about all I did.
We have been enjoying the new garden all summer. We call it the bird sanctuary for a reason… It is "bird-a-palooza" out there all day long! We love having our morning coffee and lunches on the back porch. (The porch overlooks the garden.) It would be so nice if we could spend more time out there in the late evening after the day cools off, but right now it is just pitch black out there. (Which is nice if you are star gazing, but not so much if you are trying to hang out and have a conversation.)



It was really hard to get a good picture of the garden, I may have to go to the upstairs deck to get a full picture.


The neighbors cat seems to enjoy the garden as much as we do, though it may be more for the birds than the company… (The garden had really filled in by the end of the summer, you can see an updated picture here.)


We have all sorts of wildlife out here. Our little DIY Bubble Fountain really brings them in. Hubby snapped this picture through our bedroom window one morning, earlier this summer…


I have spent some time lately browsing and collecting Outdoor Lighting Ideas on Pinterest, Houzz, and Google Images to get inspiration for the hubby’s next project I have come across a few images and project ideas that are just perfect for our garden and an excited to share them with you!

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Check out all these gorgeous ideas and links after the jump!


I love these little mason jars hanging from mini-shepherds hook. You can get the tutorial and make some for yourself at Finding Home. I can totally picture something like this in a couple of spots around the perimeter and by the stone bench.

Of course, if you are not a DIY-er or just don't want to make your own, you could always buy premade mason jar lights like these gorgeous ones from Sweet Tea Clothing Co. on Etsy.



If you have a lot of trees in your garden, you can find a ton of hanging lantern ideas. Like this one from Millie Holloman's Photography blog. I think I have seen very similar lanterns at Hobby Lobby.

Anther hanging mason jar idea, though I can't find the original source for this photo.



These little suspended votives are just gorgeous.

If glass votives or mason jars aren't your thing, you could always follow this Tin Can Lantern Tutorial from Grow Creative.


These little sun jars from Fox and Feather would be perfect soft lighting on my outdoor coffee table.


This is a great idea for a DIY chandelier. Something like this would be perfect over our door dining set.

We have a ton of trees, it would be so gorgeous to wrap a few of them in white rope lights and create a little sitting area.

solar string lights
How pretty would a lighted trellis be over our stone bench. See how to make this one over at Kojo Designs.

We definitely want to hang some of the round bulb string lights over the top of the garden. Similar to the photos below. Target has an awesome deal on these lights. solar string lights *UPDATE* I finally added some of these lights around our fire pit. You can see them here.

Photo source.




I love these pathway lights! They are the perfect size for our rock stepping stones.


Of course if you have a wider pathway, you could go with a larger path light.


Can't find the original image source for this photo...
Here is a great DIY idea to up-cycle your old-style light fixtures:


I don't have a place for these now, but I love the look of these lighted tables for a party.


How about you? Do you have any big plans in the works to spruce up your outdoor space? I'd love to hear from you about your plans
If you are looking for a few more semi-easy outdoor projects you can do yourself, be sure to check these out as well:


Make a Wood and Rope Tree Swing
No Sew Outdoor Patio Curtains (from drop cloths)

DIY Outdoor Firepit

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