Skip to Content

How to make fun decorative Halloween jars

These decorative Halloween jars are easy and fun to make. Kids will love helping to create these recycled Halloween decorations! These decorative Halloween jars are easy and fun to make. Kids will love helping to create these recycled Halloween decorations! 

Decorative Halloween Jars

My favorite holiday is quickly approaching! As this year flies by and the Christmas decorations are showing up in the stores I am firmly pumping the brakes!!

I love making Halloween crafts, and I always get excited about picking out Halloween costumes. But for some reason, I never really invest in too many decorations.

Besides having our Switch Witch basket out, and some pumpkins carved, our house seems pretty plain each year. So I decided to change that up and created these Decorative Halloween Jars.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

No time to make this Halloween craft now? Pin it for later!

If you can’t make this recycled craft now, pin it to your kids’ crafts ideas board on Pinterest and it’ll be here for when you’re ready.These decorative Halloween jars are easy and fun to make. Kids will love helping to create these recycled Halloween decorations!  #twitchetts

Tips for making this Halloween craft.

  • Do not use oil to remove your labels. Use vinegar instead. Otherwise, the paint will not stick to the jar.
  • To get a good clear color, use white light tea lights. To get a more “spooky” look, use yellow light tea lights.
  • This project can get messy! We recommend creating outdoors or in a space where the mess will not be an issue.
  • Play with paint colors and designs. Print templates or let your kids design free-hand!

Halloween connect the dots

How to make a jar lantern

Below is our step by step tutorial for creating this Halloween art project. Feel free to print it for easy reference.

Yield: 1 Lantern

Easy Halloween Jar Lanterns

These decorative Halloween jars are easy and fun to make. Kids will love helping to create these recycled Halloween decorations! 

This simple Halloween kids craft is perfect for decorating your home. Not too spooky and just the right amount of fun.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Materials

  • School Glue
  • Food Coloring
  • Empty Jars (olives, jelly, pickles, salsa, baby food, etc)
  • Water
  • Black Cardstock silhouette graphics. (I just taped pictures to the black cardstock and cut them out)
  • Fake tea lights

Tools

  • Foam Brush

Instructions

  1. Mix 1 Tablespoon of glue with 2 teaspoons of water. Add food color until you like the color you have.
  2. Apply the paint to your jar using a foam brush.
  3. Apply a second coat and add your silhouette picture to the wet glue. Use a bit more glue around the edges.
  4. Add a fake tealight.

More Halloween projects you will love!

When to make these Halloween lanterns

Sometimes you see a craft and think, oh that’s cute! But then you don’t know when you will make it. Here are some ideas for this fun art project!

  • Decorate your front window.
  • Place them around your classroom.
  • Gift them to loved ones.
  • Give them to nursing homes to decorate.

If you loved this Halloween craft, share it by pinning or sharing on Facebook.

We are thankful for every share! Each time someone shares our posts, our site grows and we are so thankful that we can continue to create unique and simple projects for kids. Know a friend who’d like these decorative Halloween jars? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite kid’s craft board on Pinterest.

These decorative Halloween jars are easy and fun to make. Kids will love helping to create these recycled Halloween decorations!  #twitchetts

Easy Fall Lantern Mason Jars - Parent From Heart

Tuesday 31st of October 2023

[…] your Fall Lanterns more festive for Halloween by following these tips from […]

Fall Toddler Activities You Can Enjoy Too!

Friday 29th of September 2017

[…] We took a couple of dry, small, not entirely flat, maple leaves, an empty mason jar and another empty glass jar, Elmer’s glue, a very small amount of food colouring, and mixed. We painted the jars and added a little bit of Elmer’s glue to the back of the leaves to secure them. If using them outside, I recommend spraying with a varnish as the glue/ food colouring mixture is water-soluble. See the entire how-to from Twitchetts here. […]

Wicked Awesome Upcycled Halloween Decorations -

Thursday 14th of September 2017

[…] Get the full tutorial here. […]

25 DIY Halloween Decor Ideas - Outnumbered 3 to 1

Tuesday 4th of October 2016

[…] Dough Garland Halloween Cauldron Weathered Plastic Pumpkin Totem Pole UpCycled Halloween Wreath DIY Decorative Halloween Jars Halloween Wreath Not-So-Spooky Halloween Wreath Hanging Ghost Craft Tissue Paper Ghost Craft Spider […]

Christine - The Choosy Mommy

Friday 12th of August 2016

This is so cute and creative! Never too early to start holiday decorations!

Skip to Instructions