Halloween Craft: Glass Jar Jack-O-Lantern Luminary

Halloween is around the corner and such a dark and spooky night needs a little illumination. For a fun craft that practices recycling, make a painted jar luminary using craft paint and an old glass pickle, mayonnaise or canning jar. Make this luminary to add light to your Halloween decor and create a unique Jack-o-lantern that you can keep from year to year.

What You'll Need to Make the Halloween Glass Jar Jack O'Lantern Luminary
You will need, first of all (of course) a glass jar. This can be any kind of jar--any size. Make sure it is cleaned out well and dried thoroughly.

You will also need orange craft paint, green craft paint, a paint brush, black slick puff paint, clear spray paint and a candle (or a battery-operated tea light or candle for safety).

How to Make the Halloween Glass Jar Jack O'Lantern Luminary
Place newspapers or paper towels down on your work surface to protect it. Start by using the slick puff paint to create a Jack O'Lantern face on one side of the jar. Paint the outline of two eyes, a nose and a mouth on the jar and allow to dry.

After the slick puff paint has dried, you will need to paint the outside of the jar around the face orange. You can make a light coat or heavy with the orange paint. Do not paint the insides of the eyes, nose and mouth.

Allow the orange paint to dry, then paint the rim of the jar with the green craft paint. After all paint has dried, take the jar outside and spray the outside carefully with clear acrylic spray paint. This will seal the paint on the outside of the jar and give it a shiny finish.

Variations for the Jack-o-lantern Luminary
If you prefer not to paint the jar for this craft, there is a variation that is fun to make, especially for kids. After painting the face on the jar, cut squares of orange tissue paper and glue them onto the jar, overlapping them to cover the jar completely.

Make a set of these Jack-o-lantern jars by making several out of assorted sized jars. Small baby food jars can become tiny pumpkins while large jars can be jumbo Jack-o-lanterns.

For another fun variation, make Jack-o-lanterns out of several baby food jars. After they have dried, use craft wire to twist a hanger around the rim of the jar. Hang these little guys outside or around the house for unique Halloween decorations. These would be best with battery-operated tea lights for safety.