How to Make a Fall Leaf Luminary

Do-It-Yourself Fall Decor

My niece and I decided we wanted to create a fall-themed craft recently, so we did what all good DIY-ers do, checked Pinterest for inspiration. One idea we saw several folks sharing was making a fall leaf luminary out of mason jars. This idea stood out to me since I LOVE autumn leaves and was visiting their house, where fall leaves of all colors were in abundance! My niece was on board, so we went for it. We made a video for you below so you can follow along and give it a try as well!

Supplies:

• Mason Jar (or if you attended Ball State University as I did, you may refer to them as Ball jars, no matter which brand you use. Fun random fact for you, the Ball factory where the jars are made is in Muncie, Indiana - go Ball State!)

• foam brush or paint brush

• mod podge

• artificial or real leaves (after trying this, we recommend artificial leaves! If you use real ones, it helps to flatten them under heavy books first)

• 12-30" of twine or string per jar

• scissors

• 1 tealight candle per jar & lighter when ready to use

Learnings

Completed Fall Leaf Luminaries

While creating this DIY project, we learned a few things:

• Hoverboards make excellent tools for smooth entrances.

• Artificial leaves likely would have stuck better to the jar - real leaves are a little thick, which makes keeping on the jar tough!

• Having assistance while gluing is helpful so one person can hold one leaf still that was freshly glued, while the other person adds the next one (see bullet point above)

• Even you think it is a lost cause, pretty much anything can be redeemed with more mod podge.

• My niece is a natural star! But then again, I already knew that;)