Creating crafts with leaves is a great way for your kids to enjoy nature in a creative way! And one of my favorite mason jar crafts is to transform a plain jar into a lantern. With this simple craft for kids, your little ones can use leaves to make their very own leaf mason jar lantern. And all you need are a few simple supplies to put this cute craft together!
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Supplies for Your Leaf Mason Jar
What You'll Find on This Page
Making your own leaf mason jar lantern is so simple, kids of any age can do it! The first step in this simple kid’s craft is to gather your supplies. To make your leaf mason jars, you’ll need:
- An empty glass jar
- Leaves (real or faux)
- Mod podge
- Paintbrush
- Candle (flameless electric tealights are safest for children)
So, gather up your supplies and get ready to start crafting!
Where to Find Leaves
This cute craft is more than just a fun art project! It can also be a learning experience for your kids. Before you start making your leaf mason jar lantern, take the time to explore nature and find the perfect leaves for your art project!
The beauty of this simple craft is that you can use real leaves or faux leaves to make your lanterns. Either way, the process for putting the lantern together will be the same. That means you can make this fun fall craft an outdoor activity by heading outside to find leaves for your lanterns. And there are so many great places to find leaves, like:
- On the ground: If you’re giving your lanterns a fall theme, look for leaves of different colors and sizes on the ground. Just make sure the leaves aren’t too dried and brittle – they’ll fall apart before you’ll be able to glue them to the jar.
- In the trees: Your kids can also look to the trees for leaves. Using green leaves is another fun option for your mason jar lanterns.
- From bushes or flowering plants: Trees aren’t the only place to find leaves for your craft! Look around your yard for your leaves. Flowering plants, bushes, and shrubs are also perfect for creating a leaf mason jar.
When searching for leaves for your mason jar lanterns, look for these characteristics to make it simple to create your fun kid’s crafts:
- Leaves that aren’t too big to fit on your mason jar
- Flat leaves that don’t have thick veins or branches
- Flexible leaves that bend easily without breaking
- Leaves of various sizes
How to Make Leaf Mason Jars
After finding the best leaves for your mason jar kid’s craft, it’s time to start decorating your jars! The first step to creating your jar lanterns is to paint a base of mod podge over the entire jar. This gives your jar a cool blurred effect and will make it easier to glue your leaves to the jar.
When your jar is covered with mod podge, start placing the leaves around the jar. You can add more glue as needed, but don’t worry about sticking the entire leaf to the jar during this step. The edges of the leaves will probably pop up as you’re gluing at this point. Instead, focus on getting the center of each leaf to stick to the jar during the first round of gluing.
Allow the first layer of glue to dry completely before moving on to the finishing step. Grab the brush and start adding glue under the areas where the leaves didn’t stick the first time. Press the edges of the leaves down and hold them in place to secure them. Then, paint a layer of glue over the top of all the leaves. This will help ensure the leaves stay in place while your kids use their lanterns.
Now that your leaves are secure, it’s time to turn your leaf mason jar into a lantern by adding a candle. Since this is a kid’s craft, it’s a good idea to use a flameless candle to make this craft safe for kids. Flameless tealights make the perfect addition to your mason jars!
Turn on the tealight and place it inside the jar to instantly transform your leaf mason jar into a cute lantern.
Other fun leaf activities for kids:
Open-ended Nature Art for Kids Inspired by Leaf Man
Leaf Crowns Kids Craft for Spring or Olympics
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