Sun and Moon Jars | How to Create Fun Gifts with Solar Lights!

I found my jars at the Ikea near our house, and they were so inexpensive, and had many options to choose from! Look for good quality solar lights for inside the jars, with rechargeable batteries built in, and be sure to find lights that come free of the stakes so they fit inside the jars. I purchased the spray paint to frost the inside of the jars, so that they glow...

When you get the lights, you will need to activate them, by removing the battery strip so that the light works, and then, remove any protective plastic on top of the solar panels as well. The solar piece heads I bought, were stainless steel, and the stakes came free of the heads easily. You will not need the stainless steel stakes, but you can keep them, if you decide you need to use them for any garden marking, small garden staking, or any yard project that requires a stake.

I used spray paint to coat the inside of my jars, as they were crystal clear. You can use paper instead, you do not have to paint, but I wanted a frosty look to the jars. You can see the jars I made, without the lights on, and how the frosty spray paint looks. I did have some christmas or holiday tissue, and added it to the inside of the jars, and that should be only on the bottom of the jar, as you need the sun to shine in, so you get the battery charged fully.

Play with it! You can use small pieces of glitter in the paint as well! Or, use some curly package filler, and place your solar light head all nestled in the curly paper. It won't get hot, so you can use any filler you want, pinecones, rocks, bark, etc, just do ensure the top of the solar head strip is exposed to light during the day!

Then, simply, place them out in the sun, and let them work! You can use red, green or gold paint to make your sun and moon jars more holiday feeling, or do them in royal tones, like red, blue, green, and purple, and make majestic colors. I think these would be fun for valentines day, all red! Or, for mardi gras, use purple paint, gold, and green to really spike the night!

I have a sun and moon jar for the holidays, and it is easy to change by just adding holiday paper to the inside of the jar. I have added more lights to taller and bigger jars too. That way, you can use confetti, sprinkle decorations, or even some jewel colored tea light holders to the inside and get the holiday effect.

If you use the frosty paint to paint on the inside, you can place a design stencil on the inside too, and then make a saying, like Happy Holidays, or Happy 4th of July! Then, you can use another color paint, and spray over the stencil, to really make the areas that did not get spray pop. I have taken red saran wrap, and wrapped the light inside to get a red glow, and found blue saran too. A blue walmart shopping bag works really well. These solar lights are only limited to your imagination, and make great pool lights, and gifts to summer parties of any kind.