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Hello Friends!

I don’t know about everyone else, but this is the weekend our family generally decorates the house for Christmas.  I’ve given you lots of decor ideas so far (check them out on the DIY Projects page) and I still have quite a few more to share with you!

Today I am giving you the how-to details for our glowing canning jar garland!  I made this garland and have shared it at each of our holiday events this year.  However, at each event I used it in a different way.

For our first event, I used the garland on our southern inspired tree- Nothing says southern like magnolia leaves and mason jars, right!?

I was able to use the garland on this fake tree by wrapping the wire branches around the garland to keep it in place.  Unfortunately, I am not sure you could hang the garland on a real tree due to the weight of the jars.

If you’re a die hard live tree fan, don’t worry.  You can still use the canning jar garland in other areas of your home.  For example, below I wrapped the lights around some greenery and and draped it in front of a table.  You could do this off of your fireplace mantle or over a doorway as well.

What I love about this idea is that it can go from Holidays to the hot summer days with no problem!  During the summer months you can hang this garland outside over your patio to create a charming outdoor atmosphere! These photos below give you a little bit more of a summer feel.

I would have loved to make this garland out of all vintage jars with zinc lids.  However, if you’ve shopped for zinc lidded mason jars, you know they can get expensive.  Plus, there is a ceramic piece in many zinc lids that make them difficult to drill through.  I went to my local grocery store and bought new jars.  They were about $8 for 12 jars.  The lids on these brand new jars looked similar to the jar on the left (below).  But I wanted them to look like the lid on the jar to the right (below).  So, what was my solution? Paint!!!!!

Here’s what you need for the project.

– Canning jars (I went with the smaller jelly jars).
– Globe lights (available in the Christmas section during the holidays and the patio/outdoor section during the summer).
– Spray paint primer
– Metal Effects Bronze Paint (found at Spectrum Paint)
– Metal Effects Blue Patina Solution (found at Spectrum Paint)
– Gray Spray Paint

Step 1– First you want to drill 3 holes in the lid of each jar.  The middle hole will be for the light bulb- so make sure it is large enough that the metal part of bulb fits all the way through.  The other two holes are for ventilation and keep things from getting too hot.

Step 4– Before the second coat of Bronze paint is completely dry, sponge on the patina solution.  In a few minutes you will start to see the chemical reaction take place!! The instant aging is pretty awesome!  Allow ample time for the solution to work.

Step 5– After the lid has dried from step 4, lightly dust the lid with a gray spray paint to dull down the bluish coloring just a bit.

Here’s the finished look!  Compare the instantly aged lid with the true vintage one- pretty similar, right!?

Step 6– All that’s left is to screw your light in (through the lid) and then to screw your lid onto the jar!

So, there you have it- canning jar garland perfect for any season!  Are you going to take on this project?  Please send us pictures!  We’d love to share them on our blog and/or facebook page!