Temporarily Light Up Your Patio Or Pergola With These Mason Jar Tea Lights

Construction & Contractors Articles

If you are planning an outdoor party and want to have a unique way to light your patio or pergola, built by professionals like those at Apollo Patio Roofing, with a soft glow, you can make your own using simple, inexpensive supplies. Read below to learn how to create a basic mason jar tea light and how to personalise it.

Before You Begin

Before you start making your lights, you should keep these safety tips in mind.

  • Wear safety glass to protect your eyes in case the glass breaks. This is especially important if you are drilling holes for the hangers.
  • Check the jar carefully for any cracks or chips. Although tea lights do not give off a lot of heat, small imperfections could break when exposed to even a tiny bit.
  • When you decorate the jar, do not let anything flammable extend over the rim. 

What You Will Need

Before you begin creating your lights, gather the following supplies. Listed is what you will need to create one mason jar tea light. The supplies can be found around your house, in the supermarket, and at home improvement centres. 

  • One four or eight ounce glass mason jar, depending on how big you want the lights
  • Decorative sand in the colour of your choice, enough to fill half of the jar
  • One tea light

If you want to hang your lights from the upper boards of a pergola or patio cover, you will also need the items listed below.

  • Two millimetre thick wire
  • Measuring tape
  • Wire snips
  • Drill with three millimetre bit

Making The Basic Light

Now that you have your supplies ready, it is time to make a basic light. In the next section, you will be given ideas on how to decorate them to add your own personal touch.

If you are planning to hang the lights up, you will need to drill one hole in the glass rim on each side of the jar using the three millimetre drill bit.

  1. Use the tape to measure off and mark 30 centimetres on the wire.
  2. Cut the wire with the snips.
  3. Bend both ends of the wire five centimetres from the tips at 90 degree angles.
  4. Feed the tips through the holes in the jar.
  5. Bend the wire up to secure the jar.

The directions below are for lights that will not be hung or for after you have created your hanger.

  1. Fill the jar halfway with the decorative sand and pack it down with your fingers.
  2. Use your fingers or a spoon to scoop out enough sand in the centre to make room for the tea light.
  3. Place the tea light in the space you created.
  4. Pack the sand around the candle until it is even with the top.

Adding Your Personal Touch 

Once you have made your basic light, it is time to make it pretty. Below are some ideas to get your own creative juices flowing.

  • Cover the outside of the glass with a thin, see-through fabric to change the colour of the lantern's glow.
  • Wrap a bright ribbon around the rim and tie it in a bow. Just make sure it does not extend above the lid so it does not catch on fire.
  • Alternate the color of the sand to make colourful stripes inside the jar.
  • Get some acrylic paint and stencils to stencil designs onto the outside of the jar.
  • Put stickers around the glass to create shadows of their shapes.

From elegant to flashy, these mason jar tea light will give your party an interesting decoration that will help keep the party going well after dark. However, if you are looking for a more permanent lighting solution, speak to a professional who builds and decorates patios and pergolas. He or she can give you advice on the best methods for your needs.

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24 September 2014

How I Constructed My New Home

Hello and welcome to my construction blog. My name is David and I would like to tell you about the process of designing and building a new home from the ground up. I had always dreamed of building my own home and last year, that dream became a reality. I had been saving money for many years so I could afford to buy the materials and employ the contractors needed to construct my home. I learnt so much during the process, I decided to start this blog. It was a wonderful day when the final piece of my home was put into place and I am now very happy.