Ahh, summer nights….don’t ever end! I’m already getting nostalgic over our long summer nights fading into fall, making way for chilly autumn mornings. The hum of cicadas and heavy, slow air makes it hard to leave the porch at night – I just want to sit still and soak it all in. Which is how I ended up spending my Sunday night putting together this cool flameless DIY lantern.
Like a little reminder of summer camp days gone by, this is a super cute upcycled DIY & kids art project all rolled into one! It’s useful, made from simple recycled items, is kid-safe, and has a fun modern look – basically all of my favorite things. If you have a peanut butter jar and a disposable plastic (or paper!) bowl you can make this too!
To make your own recycled DIY lantern you’ll need:
Note: We prefer to shop locally or use what we have at home, but this list contains a few affiliate links from Amazon and/or Woodpecker Crafts for reference. As Amazon Associates, we make a small commission on qualifying purchases.*
BASIC SUPPLIES:
- 1 Plastic peanut butter jar (with lid)
- A plastic bowl (paper if you prefer)
- Craft or spray paint (make sure it’s a paint that sticks to plastic – I like this eco-friendly, non-toxic, low VOC spray paint!)
- Scissors
- 14″ (roughly) piece of 1/4″ cotton rope, wide ribbon, or similar (I used this kind)
- A flameless tea light (like this)
- A small velcro dot (like this)
FOR THE INNER LINER:
- Colorful tissue paper
- A large piece of wax or parchment paper (for a large peanut butter jar I used 11″ x 6.25″)
- A glue stick
Recycled Flameless DIY Lantern Instructions:
- Paint a plastic bowl and peanut butter jar lid
To prep, you can paint your plastic bowl and the lid of your peanut butter jar a fun color as we did. Let dry thoroughly and set to the side.
- Cut a hole through the bottom of a clear plastic peanut butter jar and thread with cotton roping or ribbon
Cut a small (1/4″) hole in the center of the bottom of the peanut butter jar. This is actually going to turn into the top of your lantern. Tie a knot at each end of your cotton roping or wide ribbon. Starting from the inside of your jar, push the center of your rope through the hole. From the outside, pull the center out and pull up to create a handle.
- Cut a hole in the bottom of the plastic bowl and thread the roping through to create a cover for the top of the lantern
Cut a small hole in the center of the bottom of your plastic bowl. With your bowl bottom-side up, push the handle up through the hole and pull the bull down so it covers your peanut butter jar – now your lantern has a cover! Just a note: I cut off the lip of my plastic bowl to make it look more like an actual lantern cover – you may not need or want to do this depending on the kind of bowl you use. If you notice that the cut plastic has left a sharp edge, you can sand it down with a small piece of sandpaper or steel wool to make it extra smooth for small fingers.
- Add a small square of velcro to the inside of the peanut butter jar lid to keep your flameless tea light in place
Grab the lid of your jar and a flameless tea light. Put one side of a velcro dot on the bottom of your flameless light and the other in the middle of your jar lid. Now when you want to light up your lantern, you can turn your lea light on, stick it to velcro, screw the lid onto the bottom of your lantern and you’re ready to roll!
At this point, your lantern is ready to use, but we wanted the inside to light up with bright and colorful patterns, so we went ahead with a few extra steps… - Fold a large square of parchment paper in half to line the inside of your lantern
To create the colorful liner, I started by doubling up a piece of parchment paper (2 layers make it a little stiffer so it will hold its shape in the jar and stand up straight). Measure the height and lid diameter of your peanut butter jar and cut your parchment paper so it will fit inside.
- Cut or tear pieces of colorful tissue paper to decorate your liner
Once your parchment paper has been cut to size, start cutting tissue paper into fun shapes – they can be geometric, organic – anything you prefer! You could also use stamps, draw with crayons, decorate with stickers. or glue on leaves to decorate your liner.
- Glue the tissue pieces to the parchment to create a fun composition
Use a glue stick to glue the pieces of tissue paper onto the liner. You can create a colorful liner using abstract shapes as we did, or keep reading below for more liner decoration ideas!
- Roll the liner up and slide it into your peanut butter jar
When you’ve finished, roll the parchment liner up and slide it into your peanut butter jar. Screw the lid on and you’re all set!
I love that we were able to create a fully functional camping or outdoor play accessory from supplies that won’t break the bank and were mostly saved from the recycling bin!
More ways for your kids to decorate their camp lantern…
The bright bold shapes on our lantern create a colorful glow, but there are also so many ways you could decorate this to reflect YOU and your favorite things. Here are a few more ideas for adding decoration to your parchment paper liner…
- Lay the parchment paper over leaves and use crayons, oil pastels, or charcoal to create beautiful leaf rubbings. Cut to size and insert just as we did!
- Cut out simple tree shapes from paper and use a glue stick to glue them to the bottom of your piece of parchment paper. When you turn your lantern on, you’ll see a beautiful forest in silhouette!
- Use paint to make nice big strokes and swashes of all different colors on your parchment paper.
- Use stamps or stickers to decorate your parchment paper.
- Spell out your name in big paper letters that wrap all the way around the lantern.
- Use our hammered nature process art as inspiration and smash some natural flower patterns onto the paper.
This sweet little summer craft is a total winner for camp group activities, art classes, or a kids’ party – it even made this awesome list of DIY camping craft ideas from The Spruce Crafts! Pair it with our free printable summer doodle books. outdoor explorer pack or our paper straw and play dough fairy forests for an evening outside full of seasonal fun!
*A note about affiliate links: We strive to use simple, earth-friendly supplies that can be purchased locally whenever we can, but sometimes we find the best universally available options, a rare eco-friendly find, or a niche product only available on Amazon or Woodpecker Crafts. When included in our supply list, these products are affiliate links, and if you click-through to make a purchase, we receive a small commission that helps us re-order these supplies!
I’m gone to tell my little brother, that he should also visit this weblog on regular basis to get updated
from most recent news update.