These Beaded Frost Luminaries are a great Earth Day craft. These soft colored luminaries will add just the right amount of gentle color and light to any garden or path in your yard.
Beaded Frost Luminaries
All of these luminaries are made from recycled jars. I keep just about every jar once the contents have been used up. Therefore, with Earth Day right around the corner, and the weather getting warmer, I thought it would be a great time to share these with you.
I really love the look of luminaries, especially in the garden. I have an herb garden that has plenty of green, but really no color to speak of. I’ve planted a few flowers in there each year to pretty it up, but it never seems to be quite enough.
What you’ll need to make these Frost Luminaries
- Recycled glass jars
- Silver jewelry wire
- Various colored beads
- Acrylic sealer spray
- Wire snips
- Round nose pliers
- Bubble Gum
- Yellow Jacket
- Pea Shoot
- Summer Linen
- Mace
- Blue Calico
Making the Beaded Frost Luminaries
I used Martha Stewart Frost glass paint for this project. The colors I used are in the instructions below and it is formulated to withstand the outdoors.
After painting the jars, fold your wire in half to find the center.
Using the center of the wire as your starting point, hold the wire against the jar rim, wrap around and twist together in front to hold it in place.
Wrap it several times around the jar rim. You should have a few inches of excess wire to add beads onto.
Bend the wire upward so that when you add the beads they won’t fall off.
Here’s where your round nose plier comes in. Use it to curl the ends of the wire. This serves as a decorative end and keeps the beads in place.
Here are the variations that I used to give you an idea. You can certainly do whatever designs you like!
Then, simply light them up. You can use regular tea light candles or use the LED tea lights that don’t require a flame.
These are safe to stay outside, but you may want to wipe them down once a week, and if you know it’s going to rain, bring them in so they don’t fill up with water. Enjoy!
More Luminary Ideas
- Epsom Salt Luminaries
- 4th of July Luminaries
- Bleached Burlap Vintage Luminaries
- Burlap & Doily Luminaries
- Halloween Luminaries
Beaded Frost Luminaries
Supplies
- Recycled glass jars
- Silver jewelry wire
- Various colored beads
- Acrylic sealer spray
- Wire snips
- Round nose pliers
Martha Stewart Frost Glass Paint Colors:
- Bubble Gum
- Yellow Jacket
- Pea Shoot
- Summer Linen
- Mace
- Blue Calico
Instructions
- Wash and remove any labels and glue residue from jars. Be sure they are completely dry.
- Paint the outside of the jars with the frost paint. it will appear streaky at first, but as you work your paintbrush over the glass, smoothing the surface out as you go, the paint will become more uniform. Allow it to dry for one hour.
- Spray the painted jars with sealer and let dry.
- Snip wire into 2-foot lengths. Find the center of your length of wire and hold it against the rim of the jar. Wrap both ends of wire around the rim and twist together to hold in place.
- Continue wrapping the wire, leaving a few inches at each end to add beads. Twist wire together again to keep it from unraveling.
- Bend wire upward so that when you thread your beads on they won't fall off.
- After adding your beads, use the round nose plier to curl the end of the wire to prevent your beads from falling off, and to add a decorative touch.
- Try variations by adding some beads to the wire that wraps around the jar rim.
- These are very pretty lit up at night as well! Use tea light candles or LED tea lights inside the jars.
This post was originally published on this blog on April 7, 2013.
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Debra says
These are very pretty. I have only about half an hour for the paint to dry – ever try a hair dryer on it? Thanks.
Amanda Formaro says
I haven’t tried that myself, but you could as long as you use a low setting and keep the dryer moving back and forth so as not to concentrated heat in one area for too long.
Juli says
Can you tell me what kind of sealer you used?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Juli! I didn’t use a sealer on these. I used Martha Stewart Frost glass paint for this project which is formulated to withstand the outdoors. If you really wanted to use a sealer, I would recommend a matte finish so as not to take away from the frosted effect. Krylon carries a low-odor matte finish outdoor sealer that would work well – here’s an affiliate link where you can see it http://amzn.to/2fpiSEL
Laura says
I love your luminaries. The beading adds a nice touch.
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you laura!
Inspire Me Heather says
Your luminaries look just beautiful, I do like the beads on them too! I’ve got this linked to my DIY luminaries roundup post as well today, thanks for posting yours!
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you so much Heather! Really appreciate that!
Kay the Country Bumpkin says
You add a wonderful creative touch to all of your creations. Thank you! I definitely want to use some of your ideas!!
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Kay, so nice of you to say!
abby says
I’m thinking of ways to fix my garden this spring and make it really nice, this is the perfect touch on it! I’m going to try and see how it fits my garden :).
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Abby, I hope you have fun with it!
Sue says
I was disappointed in the paint finish on my jar. I use the same paint, trying a sponge brush and a good quality sable brush as well but the finish is still streaky looking. Tried to improve the look with a second coat but still not a nice smooth finish as shown in photos.
Any tips?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Sue, I’m sorry you had trouble! In #2 of the printable instructions I say:
“Paint the outside of the jars with the frost paint. it will appear streaky at first, but as you work your paintbrush over the glass, smoothing the surface out as you go, the paint will become more uniform. Allow it to dry for one hour.”
It’s true that the finish will be streaky. To fix that you have to keep smoothing out the paint with your paintbrush. If it siple won’t smooth out, you may have too much paint on the brush and jar. You can use either a dry brush or clean off the one you are using to help smooth out the finish. As with spray painting, 203 thin coats works much better than 1-2 thicker coats. Hope that helps!
Jennifer says
Where do you buy the Martha Stewart frost glass paint? I checked my local Joann and Michaels stores and they did not carry it. Thanks!!!
Amanda Formaro says
I bought mine at Michaels. However, if it’s not at your store (check Hobby Lobby if there’s one near you) you should be able to buy it online without a problem. Just do a google search for the paint line. :)
Hilda says
I love your choice of color paints. I would use copper wire. With time it would have a pretty patina. Just a suggestion.
Jeanine says
Absolutely perfect! Going to use for our window sill. I keep wanting to get rid of our string lighting there but havent found anythin to put in their place–these are the perfect switch with a sweet Spring feel! Lovely, thank you for sharing!
Cookie 17 says
I like this ,have lot jars wondering what do now I know,Thank’s Hon have great day,,,
Suzanne B says
Love these!
Casse-bonbec says
how lovely !