Repurposing: Humble Glass Jar to Hanging Lantern

I save glass jars like a mad woman. I use them to store cleaning supplies, craft bits and pieces, nuts and seeds in the pantry. I use them as vases, pencil holders and catch-alls.Sparky is having his 30th birthday party this weekend, and I've been looking for cheap, green, easy, fun ways to decorate the house, deck and garden. Enter: glass jars as hanging lanterns.It really couldn't be any easier.

You'll need:

galvanised steel wire - approx 0.5-1mm diameter. I bought mine at Bunnings - $5 for 75metres.

glass jars of any shape/size

needle nose pliers (try to get the ones with a built in wire cutter - it saves you from changing tools constantly).

candles

Blu-Tac

1. Cut a length of wire approx one armslength long.

2. Place the neck of the jar in the (approximate) centre of the length of wire and wrap around the neck 3-4 times. Be sure to keep it firmly wound and the wire sitting in the neck groove of the jar.

3. Bring the two lengths of wire together on one side of the jar, cross them over each other and twist back in the opposite direction. This basically creates two small loops on the side of the jar which are needed to secure the handle.

4. Wrap the two lengths of wire around to the opposite side of the jar and twist a few times to secure. Again, make sure to keep the wire wound tightly.

5. Use both lengths of wire to form a handle over the top of the jar. Secure by threading the remaining lengths of wire through the loops we created in step 3.

6. Twist the wire together and bend back up towards the top of the handle. Take one length and wrap it around the base of the handle and the other wire length a number of times (as above). Snip the excess wire and press any sharp edges in, using your pliers.

7. Pop a candle in, securing with Blu-Tac, light and enjoy.

8. Hang in a group or solo, from a tree, a patio or a deck post.

I think I made that sound much more complicated than it actually is! It truly is simple and super cheap to do. Just try it yourself - you'll likely come up with a much better technique than mine!These going to be great for decorating the deck on the weekend but I'm already thinking of the possibilities as we're coming in to prime entertaining season:

• citronella candles to keep the mosquitoes at bay
• take them camping for a bit of added ambience
• a lovely homemade gift for a housewarming, or for the hostess with the mostest.

 Added Inspiration: Re-Nest did a great round-up earlier in the year on ten ways you can re-use mason jars.