Hi I am Michele and I am a solar light addict!
It's true that the last two summers I competed with my neighbor for the best light back yard. I do draw the line with holiday solar lights. Between finding storage space, batteries and tricking my husband to shop for more, I decided it was best to get creative.
I also hoard glass jars. It does pay off at times like when a friend needed large quantities for her wedding, last minute center pieces and now Halloween.
Here is a super easy Halloween craft that you and your family can do together. Please supervise the children when using glass, oven and silicone adhesive. You can easily do this simple project for any theme.
I am in love with Americana's Glass Enamel paints. I used them on my glass flowers. I baked them for 20-30mins at 325 and they survived the summer. I also used UV6800 silicone adhesive that also held all summer. I knew these were the perfect items for my solar craft.
Gather your solar lights and empty jars. You need to match the mouth of the jar to the solar lights. You want it to rest on top of the glass.
I started with a small amount of paint inside a clean jar. Less is more. I used a sponge brush. You want to gently apply the paint to the glass. Swirling will not work with this paint. It's thick and doesn't want to glide. The lighter your touch and use of paint, the less you will see the lines. I personally loved the streaked effect for this project.
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes and allow cooling in the oven with the door shut. A sudden shift in temperature may shatter the glass.
After painting I went and cut some spooky images (bats and trees) on my cricut using the Chic & Scary Seasonal Cartridge. You can use any adhesive you have on hand but you want something that dries clear. I used my cricut tools to apply the cutouts inside and press down.
After designing the inside you want to take the top of your solar light. I used $1.97 light from Walmart. The .99 lights were smaller than the jar openings. Apply the silicone adhesive to the light and place it on the jar. Allow it to cure for at least 2 days before setting these outside.
I tested on jar I previously glued and the plastic tube on the solar light warped from the silicone. I would recommend removing that piece. The part that holds the batteries was in perfect shape and didn't warp.
I also tried stuffing cotton balls in the jar but it diffused the light too much.
ENJOY!!!! Feel free to share your creations. There are so many things you can do with these.
