|

Hawaiian Beach Glass Party Lanterns

This post may contain affiliate links provided for your convenience. We earn commissions if you shop through the links on this page. I am also an Amazon Associate and earn from qualifying purchases Read my full disclosure policy.

Sharing is caring!

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

I grew up in Hawai’i. It’s home and it’s paradise.  Really.  My daughters have both danced hula and if you know anything about hula, the hula seestahs are a close-knit bunch.  Several months ago one of my daughter’s hula sisters had a sweet sixteen party (happy birthday, Kamalani!) and her mother asked if I could help with the center pieces.  Since it was a Hawaiian beach themed party and for our hula family I said, “Of course!”  I came up with these easy DIY Hawaiian beach glass party lanterns using recycled glass jars.

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

 It all starts with a hoard of recycled glass jars.  If you don’t have your own stash, just ask your hula family or friends to collect some for you and in a couple of weeks you’ll have plenty of jars.  Sort through and find the shapes and heights that you like. 

Remove the labels and wash well. I followed this tutorial at Mod Podge Rocks on making faux beach glass jars.  It’s easy to do. 

Hawaiian Beach Glass Party Lanterns

Supplies 

Glass jars – I used recycled glass jars, but you could purchase Mason jars

Glass paint – I used Martha Stewart Translucent Glass Paint

Sponge Brush

Embellishments – I used raffia and sea shells

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

The hardest part is learning how to pounce the paint onto the jar.  I used a sponge brush and found it best to pounce (bounce the brush up and down) to add a liberal amount of paint. 

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

More is more in this case and produced a more beachy look.

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

 Be sure to read the directions for your glass paint because they can have cure times of several weeks. Once the jars had cured, I added raffia on all the jars and a sea shell medallion on one jar for the birthday girl’s table.

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

We filled each Hawaiian beach glass jar with sand and added a battery operated votive candle.

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

For the party we added a raffia mat and more shells.

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

Here’s a party shot (thanks to Kamuela Photography!). The lanterns were a big hit with the birthday girl, her mama and the guests (several even asked if they could take a couple of jars home with them).

It cost less than $20 to make 30+ jars.  And with the additional decorations the total cost was about $45. 

Recycled jars – free

Paint – $7

Sponge brush – (I already had) free

Sand – free from Freecycle

Battery votive candles – $1 for 3 at the dollar store

Raffia – $3 (for a giant bag)

Shells – $10

Luau mats – $14 for 12

Hawaii Beach Glass Party Lanterns - Organized 31

These Hawaiian beach glass party lanterns also make great home decor accents.

 

More Recycled Jar Projects:

 

Similar Posts

28 Comments

  1. I had pinned this tutorial because it looks awesome and my mom loves sea glass! You did a great job!!

  2. I really love these jars. The color that you painted them is so calming and just perfect for the porch! Thanks for sharing the technique too!

  3. Pingback: CraftCrave | DigiFree | CraftCrave
  4. I really need to dig into painting mason jars. I have a, ahem, small collection thanks to canning tons of stuff up until recently.

  5. Hi Susan – I can’t believe you made these beautiful decorations from ordinary jars. They are stunning! Hugs, Holly

  6. I love sea glass! These are gorgeous, thanks for sharing :). Small world, I grew up in Honolulu! What Area/Island are you from?
    Have a beautiful 4th!

  7. Pingback: Bottles to Beach Themed Centerpiece
  8. Omgosh this post came just in time. I’m doing some beachy stuff for the house and was about to mod podge tint some jars, but I like the look of this better. Pinned. I hope you can come and share this post on Merry Monday on Sunday at 6pm PST.

  9. Love the way you colored the jars to look like sea grass. What a great idea. Hmmmmm
    Every year I look for sea glass on the beach in Virginia to no avail. Maybe its the wrong beach.
    Have a great weekend Susan!

    1. Thanks, Patti. I think it’s relaxing to look for sea glass on the beach, but your results are guaranteed if you make your own. 🙂

  10. I LOVE this!! They look great! i can’t wait to try it! Thank you for sharing your link on MSB’s monthly link up! 🙂

  11. Pingback: 35 Things You Can Make With Mason Jars - Mommy Enterprises
  12. Pingback: 11 Fabulous Mason Jar Crafts
  13. The paint comes in a spray can. Do you spray the sponge and then pounce or do you spray the jar then pounce.

    1. When I made these beach glass jars the paint came in a small bottle. You could try spraying one jar and spraying, then pouncing one to see which you like better, Monique. I have a sudden urge to get the spray version and make more jars. 🙂

      1. I have searched and been to so many stores and I think it’s not available anymore. I will try some other paint and see. It sure is a great project.

  14. Did the translucent paint you used come as a spray paint or as a liquid? I can only find the spray online.

    1. I used a bottle of liquid paint, similar to craft paint. That was 8-ish years ago, so it may no longer be available. Let me know if you try the spray paint, Barbara and how it turns out.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *