A quick and fun Halloween Craft for you – the tissue paper jar lanterns – these easy Halloween Lanterns for preschoolers will have you making more and more. These are also in my Red Ted Art Book – a crafty book with our favourite craft ideas for younger kids and crafting together!! Do take a peak at it!
I am not surprised that these are so popular in the U.S. they are fun, easy and quick to make… as well as being nice and safe for small hands too! I have a super helpful post on how to remove sticky labels if you want to check that out first! And some great Autumn Crafts for Preschoolers that are easy and fun too!
This is a great post to show how very versatile (Tissue) Paper Crafts can be.. and is the perfect (Tissue) Paper Halloween Craft for kids!
These Jack O’Lanterns for Halloween was first published in October 2011 and has been updated and republished for yoru convenience (and we still have these lanterns.. 7yrs later!! Woohoo!)
You may also like this super easy Jack Skellington Wreath – love the technique to make this – adapte the colour scheme to suit your Halloween Decor.. and the best bit? It is all made from PAPER!!! Yep.. a fabulous Paper Halloween Wreath!
Easy Halloween Lanterns – Materials
- Clean Jam Jar (the bigger the better),
- orange or yellow tissue paper (I recycled some from a present – but you can get it here US/ UK),
- decoupage glue or PVA watered down (decoupage glue here US/ UK),
- black paper,
- paint brush,
- candle or electric tea light (get tealights here US/ UK)
Affiliate links added for convenience!
Oh and look at this WONDERFUL set of Halloween Luminaries sent in by a reader!! ADORE!!!!!
Easy Halloween Lantern How To
As per usual you can watch this handy little video (and see how very easy they really are.. or follow the written instructions below!
(or if you want a giggle.. see my OLD OLD OLD video on this starring a lovely 3yrs old Red Ted !!)
How to make a Tissue Paper Jack O’Lantern Step By Step Instructions
- Make sure you jars are cleaned properly (read how to remove sticky labels here!)
- Cut your tissue paper into squares – 2inch x 2inch is good)
- Cover the glass in glue and start applying your tissue paper
- You will need 3-4 layers – lighter colours like yellow, will need more.
- Keep adding glue as necessary
- Cut out some Jack O’Lanter faces out of black paper
- Use your decoupage glue and glue them one
- Finally, add a final coat of glue and let dry fully!
We have had ours for about 7 years now and the jars are still going strong. They look fabulous and are so easy and fun to make!
Jack O’Lantern Mason Jars
Equipment
- Mason jars
- Orange or yellow tissue paper (ideally recycled)
- Glue
- Brush (or fingers)
- Black paper for features
- Scissors
Instructions
- Make sure you mason jar is clean and dry (we have a great "how to remove sticky labels" information post if needed)
- Cut or rip your tissue paper into squares – 2inch x 2inch is good
- Cover the glass in glue and start applying your tissue paper. You will need 3-4 layers – lighter colours like yellow, will need more
- Keep adding glue as necessary
- Cut out some Jack O’Lanter faces out of black paper and glue them on
- Add final layer of glue over the whole jar and let dry!
Video
More fantastic Halloween Crafts for Preschoolers:
What others are reading
Craft Video – How to Make Paper Pom Poms- Summer Lanterns
- Reversible Yarn Wrapped Pumpkin Garland For Halloween & Thanksgiving
- Kids Get Crafty – Chalk Ghosts & Satsuma Lanterns
- Quick Craft Post: Cardboard Box Doll’s Bed
- Cardboard Princess Carriage DIY
- How to Remove Sticky Labels from Glass Jars
- Easy Pumpkin Treat Bags for Preschool
maria says
Love your lanterns!
Red Ted Art says
Aaah thanks Maria – as you are the Queen of Recycled crafts, I thought you may like that it was all recycled 😉
ScienceSparks says
Too cute! What a gorgeous little man you have. Love the vlog. Can you buy that glue from craft shops or online? They are very effective x
Red Ted Art says
Yes you can buy it on Amazon http://astore.amazon.co.uk/retear-21/detail/B004BPSWOQ
Julia Deering says
Love the vlog!
Great idea for lanterns. We made some from recycled water bottles, tissue and cellophane pieces and a used battery operated tea-light. I made them with some under 5s at the Geffrye Museum (where we weren’t allowed real flame, of course.) We even made little carry handles from ribbon. They weren’t scary/jack-o-lanterns but they so could be. x
Red Ted Art says
They sound GORGEOUS! And was thinking of making some with electrical tea lights too.. then the kids can carry them around. Lovely!
Ruth - The Pink Whisk says
These are fab! That’s another half term activity to add to the list thank you! Xx
Domestic goddesque says
Brilliant! What a talented bunch you are!
Liz Burton says
So cute! RedTed is a star!
We have something similar coming to the blog today ;0)
gemma says
Great!!!
We will definitely be making these in the week. I agree, what a gorgeous little man you have.xxx
Red Ted Art says
Aaaah thank you all for lovely sweet comments… of course I am *super proud* of Red Ted, he did so well… 😉
beth says
Super cute! I would love for you to link up at http://livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/search/label/Linkey%20Parties
Red Ted Art says
Done!
Mummy..Mummy..MUM!! says
oooh LOVE those, and the vlog. FAB! and little Red Ted is brilliant! He’ll be making his own soon 🙂
Red Ted Art says
Oh yes – once he is ok with “dirty fingers”, he will be fab.. but right now he doesn’t like to get messy. Surprisingly, he gets messy rather a lot… Mmmh, how does that work?!?!?
Ally says
These are great! We made some with goblins and ghosts too!
natalie pozniak says
What a great idea. I should do this for next Halloween.
Sadie says
I do like these. I think we’ll use this technique for one of our Martinmas lanterns.
Aimee says
Great VLOG- we made these last year- aren’t they fun? Thank you for sharing your ideas with us on The Sunday Showcase It is great to have you there!
Annie says
Oh this is right up my street! dinners late tonight dear -I have lanterns to make!
Michelle Breum says
I love these! We’ll be making some at our house. I’m going to share this post in a few places online. Share some Halloween Joy!
crittersandcrayons says
As soon as I saw this, I went back and fished out the mason jars my husband threw away (we don’t have glass recycling here)….we are totally doing this! And, thanks for the link up at the Halloween Blog-Hop! There is a badge in my blog’s left margin if you want to grab it! Thanks, again!
Mealy says
So excited about the ones we made today. Kids were gutted when I said we didn’t have any more glue. Dauber wants to make pigs like this. Will need to get creative in my thinking and get some pink tissue paper in. Have two orange and one yellow pumpkin ( daughter decided she didn’t want to do orange) and can’t wait till they are dry. Have electric lights all ready for them do will probably add to the kit for carrying on the big night. Love this craft. Can see many more lanterns being made according to the season / whim!! Thanks.
Mealy says
Oh an btw I made with plastic soup pots and watered down pva plus some cunning ready to print templates from Kodak for the eyes, mouth etc.. Hoping it all dries off ok!!
Red Ted Art says
Ooh love the piggy idea! How fun. Makes me want to have another go too!