Cobblestones & Ivy: canning jar lantern ornaments

A few weeks ago I showed you the pumpkin I made out of the rings that screw onto canning jars. You can see that post here. I mentioned that I had two more projects to show you using the jars and lids, and today I'm going to show you what I did with the jars.

I made these adorable little lantern ornaments for my tree!

Last year I found myself drawn to more rustic Christmas decorations than I have used in the past but didn't have time once I realized that to make many changes, so I just used the ornaments and decorations I always use. This year I started Christmas crafting early {September I think?} so I would have plenty of time and I can't wait to show you everything I've been working on! Get ready for lots of burlap, twine, and pinecones, plus a little bit of red, white, and sparkle mixed in for added interest. And of course there will still be snowflakes, like always. They fit perfectly with the rustic theme.

Let me show you how I made my lanterns. These were really fun and easy to do, they just take a little bit of time. The Hallmark Channel is starting to show Christmas movies tonight, so turn on the TV, light a fire, and get to work on some Christmas crafts!

The first thing I did was paint the jars with two coats of frosted glass spray paint, then I wrapped twine around the tops. I wanted the twine to cover the threads where the lid screws on, so I wrapped it around five times. I think that really gives them the rustic look I was going for a lot more than just one strand of twine would have. I originally thought about using wire to hang them on the tree, but I think the wire would have just gotten lost in the tree branches...plus it didn't quite have the rustic feel I wanted.

To make the loop that goes across the top that will hang on the tree branches, I wrapped the twine around once and hot glued it up the side of the jar.

Then I looped it up over the top of the jar and glued it down the opposite side.

As I continued wrapping the twine around the jar four more times, the glued part of the loop got covered up. I used little dots of hot glue every so often as I wrapped to hold the twine in place.

Drop in a battery powered votive and that's it! I love how these little lanterns turned out and can't wait to see how they look all lit up on my tree!