Sun jars make fabulous gifts for your loved ones, whether for this holiday season or throughout the year! The sun jar was first designed by Tobias Wong from the United Kingdom and sells for about thirty dollars,1 but you can make your own sun jar at home for much less depending on what items you have lying around your house! So, what is a sun jar? A sun jar stores sunlight much like a jam jar stores jam! Basically there is a solar panel that collects energy from the sun during the day, which then powers the led light in the jar at night. This would make a cool nightlight for a child or a friend and teach us all about harnessing a clean source of energy such as the sun!
BENEFITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: Use solar energy and teach others about using it while making use of things you have around the house that would otherwise go to landfill!
COSTS: Variable… Depends on whether or not you have the required materials beforehand.
TIME AND EFFORT: Moderate. I made a few of these as gifts for my coworkers and family since I had a few unused solar lights in my home and I purchased some jars from IKEA. This took me a couple of hours to do. Here is how to make your own sun jar!3
Materials:
- Simple Solar Garden Pathlight. If you do not already own one, you can purchase one from your local hardware store for $2-5 dollars.
- A rechargeable battery. These should come with the light, but just in case…
- Glass Frosting Spray ($5) and/or Tracing Paper, and/or Glass Stones depending on what effect you prefer (see instructions below).
- Glass Jar—any will do as long as the lid is clear, but I recommend buying the Ikea Slom Jar 17 oz for $3.
- Beverage bottle label if you want color.
- Blu Tack
- Screwdriver (if you have a big light)
- Utility Knife (if you have a big light)
Instructions:
- Depending on the kind of effect you want for your jar, you either use the glass frosting spray, tracing paper, or the glass stones.
- Glass frosting spray for a frosted look! Spray a thin layer on the insides of the jar. Apply as many coatings as desired, then allow to dry. You can speed up the drying process with a hairdryer.
- Tracing paper is quick and easy for a nice look: Cut a strip of tracing paper and line the inside of the jar. This will allow for a translucent glow. Do not use regular paper because the light will not show through.
- Glass stones for a more diffused fire-like look! Once you insert the solar light parts inside, fill up the jar with the stones and arrange them to hide the parts. Glass frosting spray Tracing paper Glass stones
- Unscrew the top part off of the solar light that you choose to use from the garden store or what you find at home that you aren’t using. If the part is small enough to fit into the lid of the jar, then you do not have to take it apart. However, if it is bigger than the lid of your jar you will need to use a screwdriver and utility knife to pry off the solar panel.
- Attach the parts from the previous step to the jar’s lid with the blu tack, attaching the solar panel directly onto the lid to capture the sunlight.
- Optional: If you want to add color to your glow, use a label from one of your favorite beverages! For example, if I wanted an orange color I would purchase an orange flavored Gatorade! I enjoy my beverage, peel off the label, and recycle/reuse the bottle. Then I cut off a small square of the label and tape it over the LED light—now I have an orange glow! Make sure the label you choose is fairly transparent.
- Close the lid of the jar and your sun jar is complete!
There is a light sensing diode on the jar that causes the LED to light up once the surrounding light drops below a certain level. Remember to keep the jar in strong sunlight during the day to recharge!
