Upcycled Hanging Jar Lanterns

by Zest it Up

4 Materials

If you are West Coast, I know you are already enjoying eating alfresco during these longer days. The grind of school and work are still very much a reality, but the bright and warm evenings are consistently luring my family outside for dinner. To set the mood by making it more whimsical while keeping pests at bay with citronella candles, I decided to upcycle some old jars into lanterns for hanging around our patio. This project is so crazy easy that you can get the kids in on helping you recycle kitchen trash into brightly colored decor. A win-win in my book!

upcycled hanging jar lanterns, crafts, how to, outdoor living

Start by making sure all 6 strands of your paracord are the same length. Here I am going to be annoying by not giving you an exact measurement. The reason being is that your jars will be of varying height and you may want some lanterns to hang lower than others. So my advice is to get lots of yardage and play around 😉

Once you have all 6 strands equally lined up, tie them in a simply knot in the dead center.

Now spread out the paracord strands into pairs, making a starfish shape. Knot each pair a couple of inches from the center knot. Next step is to switch up the partners. grab the outside partners of two pairs and tie them together a couple inches from the last knots. Do this all the way around. You will start to see a bit of a cobweb appear as you make your knots all the way around.

Repeat these steps a few times until your “cobweb” is large enough to basket-cradle your recycled jar. The last step will be to burn the ends so that they do not unravel, and to bring all the ends together into one final knot. Finished!

It turned out so sweet! I like the multi-colored effect, but I think I am going to make some all one color from lantern to lantern. I may even make some that are long and dramatic. This is such a fun and quick project that it will be easy to play with as my jars for recycling accumulate!

Yay…summertime! Yay….upcycling!

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Old jars of random sizes (cleaned out and labels removed)
Yards of paracord in fun colors (you need 6 strands for one lantern)
Scissors
Candles (preferably citronella if making for outdoors)

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Frequently asked questions

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3 of 4 questions

Pamleste@yahoo. com on May 27, 2016
Where do you get the paracord at,?? Like michaels

1
Kay p. on May 27, 2016
What is paracord,and where do you find it? Thank you.

1
Cathy Mecler on May 29, 2016
Did you make the candle? How did you get it in the jar?

1