Halloween Illuminaries

If you haven't noticed, I am in to decorating for Halloween: cheap!  And upcycyling.  We recycle alot in this household and I am proud of that. 

I was very close to my grandparents when I was growing up.  They grew up during the Great Depression.  The idea of saving everything because everything could be useful was how they lived until the day they died.  (This probably is much of the reasoning behind my slight hoarding tendencies, although I am afraid to admit this.  The honey will hold this over my head forever.)  Still, I would like to start finding more ways to reuse the things that we are already bringing into this household anyway.  Glass jars are my latest project. 

Glass jars, tissue paper, black construction paper or scrapbook paper, modge podge and a Cricut are all I used for the fun project that even my 2 year-old helped to "paint".  (The Cricut is not necessary, but a convenient option.)

I used plain old tissue paper, torn in strips to cover the glass jars I had from my recycling bin.  Salsa jars, pasta sauce jars, pickle jars... you name it. 

Use Modge Podge liberally to attach the tissue paper onto the jars.  You could be as creative as you want with this.  You could use stripes or create a stain glass kind of look.  I wanted to stay with solid colors this year, but who knows next year?

Next, I used black construction paper to cut out my designs.  I used a Halloween Cricut cartridge, but you could easily cut out Jack o' Lantern faces by hand.  Or print an outline of clip art and then trace around it and then cut the image out of the black paper. 

Really, the possibilities are endless. 

So many options, so little time. 

Sigh. 

Finally, use the Modge Podge again to attach your design to the jar and it is complete.  Simply add a tealight in and the mood is set. 

 I think I will add some ribbon at the top for a more finished look.  My sister-in-law suggested hanging those black spider rings on some of them with the web.  I think that could be fun.  See...the possibilities really are endless!

I tried to get some pictures of them staged on my front porch:

However, my little "helper" wouldn't leave them alone and kept rearranging them. 

"Mama, want to put this one here? Oh, ok."

"Oh, this one goes here, ok?"

"Over here, Mommy?  Want this one over here?"

"No, put this one here, right here. There."

(Please understand these are not really questions to me in a way to imply I have any input in this decision, what this really translates into is: I will put this here.)

What can you do? 

The little designer is already coming out.