Fairy Jar Lantern DIY tutorial

Want to go back to the fairy tale magical faraway land ? I know you cant but you can always have a piece of it with these fairy jar lantern. Try them!

This is a different kind of post today as I am collaborating with a few lit bloggers and a fantastic book author for a blog tour as a part of her book launch.  I have absolutely nothing to do with books and poetry but my little sister Priya as you might know ( who occasionally shares her crafts on my blog- see here & here) has a lit blog and I gladly agreed to be a part of her new venture.

Introducing today is Jennifer Bogart who is a Reader, writer, editor, explorer, dreamer… Jennifer Bogart is having a love affair with words. Author of three women’s fiction novels (Newvember, Reflections, and Money, Masks & Madness), two romantic short stories (Under the Stars and Seven Seconds), one serialized novel (Sunny with a Twist of Olive), and one YA fantasy (Liminal Lights published by Morning Rain Publishing), she can’t stop writing any more than she can stop breathing. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog.

Jenny has taken so much time and patience to take time between her book promotion and blog tour to actually create these magical fairy jar lantern tutorial. I loved every bit of it and I am sure this is going to be magical for you guys as well. Please do drop in to her blog and have a look at her publications, also, there is a giveaway at the end of this post for one lucky reader who can win a copy of her new book. Over to jenny for the fairy jar lantern tutorial ( thanks for the pictures and lovely tutorial 🙂 )

The making of fairy jar lantern as a part of liminal series book two promotion

For the launch of Shadow Shifts (Liminal Series, Book Two), I wanted to create something magical that I could gift to a few participants by random draw. Outside of writing, I’m not terribly crafty, so I took to the internet where I found all kinds of gorgeous, and complicated, fairy crafts. The fairy jar lantern caught my attention with its simplicity and whimsy. You can watch a detailed tutorial on YouTube video shared below

There are many variations of this jar—some easier than others—mine is below.

Supplies required for making fairy jar lantern :

• Baby food jar (any jar or size is fine, just make sure there’s no pattern on it)
• Cheap, watery white glue
• White tissue paper
• Good quality craft glue or mod podge
• Twine or ribbon
• Glitter glue
• Fairies (I cut out my own on card stock, but they can be ordered online)
• Battery powered tea light
• Any other decorations or embellishments

When I made the jars for the book launch, I used a paint brush to apply the glue to the jars, this time, I used my fingers, which were equally effective.

After applying the glue to the jar, wrap the tissue paper, cut to size, around the jar in a single layer. I laid out the paper and rolled the jar over it so I didn’t have to handle it very much. Just one layer of tissue paper will do, otherwise, the light won’t shine through it effectively. I found that using watery white glue worked best with the tissue paper, but you have to move fairly quickly.

As the glue dries and becomes tacky, the tissue paper is harder to work with and is more likely to tear. Small tears aren’t an issue though, because they can easily be covered by glitter glue later. Then… you have to wait for it to dry, otherwise the paper will tear when you handle the jar.

However, while you’re waiting, you can assemble the “extras” you’ll want for decorating the jar, or you can cut out your own fairy silhouettes (or any other shape you prefer). When the tissue paper is dry, it’s time to decorate!

Using twine, I created a handle so that the jar can be hung. I used additional twine to wrap around the rim of the jar for a rustic look. Plus, we want to enjoy the glow of the fairies, but we don’t want to keep their energy trapped… they’re free to go anytime because the lid won’t fit back on the jar!

I added a few extra details in the way of charms that can be purchased on Etsy, but you can use anything you like: flowers, leaves, berries… the list is as endless as your imagination.

Next up was the glitter! While I love, love, love glitter, not everyone does. To make life a bit easier, I used glitter glue… applied with my fingers, but you can use a paint brush. It’s a little easier to manage than a glue and loose-glitter combination and a whole lot less messy.

It does, however, take quite a bit of time to dry, so I used this time to cut out more silhouettes. I added the fairy to the jar after all the decorating was complete.

In other tutorials, the fairy was added first, but I found the more I handled the jar, the more likely the fairy would become dislodged.

I used the heavier, better quality glue to adhere the fairy as I found the KrazyGlue (Gorilla Glue, clear quick-drying glue) option wasn’t as effective.

All that remains is to add a battery-powered tea light. A regular candle isn’t an option, as you’ll most likely set the poor fairy on fire. In all, it takes about a day to make these because of the drying time involved. The end result is worth the wait, and they make great gifts and decorations.

Next stop for the blog tour is at LateNightReveries and before we wrap up we have a small blurb for jenny’s new book #shadowshifts :

When Bean fails to secure Nadia’s human magic, she puts her entire race at risk. Liminals fade as fast as Shadow-monsters emerge, creating a disturbing imbalance between light and dark. Liminals aren’t the only creatures affected by things that go bump in the night…

Knowing the ravenous appetites of the Shadow-monsters will grow out of control, Bean, Tissa, Pritt, and Ping are forced to deal directly with the dire situation. Armed with the ancient secrets of their people, they band together to destroy their enemies and return balance to their magical realm.

The existence of all things Liminal depends on their success.

Hope you guys enjoyed making the fairy jar lantern.Please do not forget to click the picture below to stand for a chance to win her magical book 🙂

With lots of love for Jenny

xoxo Angela