Magical DIY: How To Create Your Own Glow In The Dark Fairy Jar
Hello guys! It’s November, and I’m back with a cool tutorial for a glow in the dark fairy jar! I made this a few weeks ago, but only recently had the time to go out and buy the lights to go inside.
It’s finally finished, I am thrilled to say that it looks awesome! It’s definitely something I’d give as a birthday present to my younger sister or other small child. At he same time though, I want to keep it for myself because its so pretty and creates an atmosphere similar to candlelight. I may end up making more for Christmas. These could make a great table centerpiece in place of candles or to complement them.
Note: The first four steps below are how to make the stickers themselves. This tutorial is for someone who has a cutting machine like Silhouette Cameo or a Cricut. If you have your stickers premade, then you can skip right to step five.
Supplies
Jar
Black silhouette stickers (I made mine out of vinyl using a Silhouette machine)
Something to fill the inside with (I used pink tissue paper – not on the image)
Something dark to fill the bottom of the jar (optional – I used dark felt)
Step 1. Preparing the Right Paper
Attach a sheet of vinyl to the adhesive cutting mat. Make sure the vinyl is the sticker kind and not heat transfer—I learned this the hard way.
Step 2. Setting up Fairy Jar Cutouts with Software
Set up your mat with the stickers that you’d like to cut onto the software for your cutting machine. If you have Silhouette Studio, you should recognize this interface. It’ll look different on software for other cutting machines. Don’t forget to set the material, the thickness, as well as the blade’s speed in the settings before you cut.
3. Beginning the Process of Cutting the Stickers
Send the design to the machine and watch it do its magic as it makes each cut with the blade. If something sounds off, make sure you don’t keep cutting, and pause the machine!
Finally, separate the vinyl from the backing. Also remove any extra pieces within the cutouts like windows, etc. I used an exacto knife for small sections that needed more thorough cutting.
Step 4. Removing the Stickers From the Machine
Step 5. Attaching the Stickers to the Fairy Jar
Here’s the part where it all comes together! Place the stickers onto the outside of the fairy jar, and don’t worry if the bottom isn’t fully covered. It may make sense to make marks or measurements before attaching the stickers, to ensure that they’re not crooked when you wrap them around the jar, especially if your stickers have a straight bottom edge like mine in the picture.
The best way to do this is to draw a straight, faint line (doesn’t have to be solid) all the way around the jar as a guideline for placing the bottom edge of the skyline sticker(s). You may use a flexible measuring tape or piece of string to find a straight line around the jar, and then make marks accordingly.
Step 6. Adding the Tissue Paper
Fill the inside of the jar using tissue or crepe paper to add an interesting sky color and texture, most preferably a sunset color. You can also cover the bottom or fill the jar with something dark, like a layer of vinyl, just to make it more opaque.
I stuck dark, adhesive felt into the inside of the jar before adding the tissue paper, but it turned out a bit light in comparison to the stickers. Overall though, it wasn’t noticeable in the dark, when the fairy jar glowed.
Step 7. Adding the Lights
Finally, add lights inside the tissue paper within the jar. I used a short row of Christmas lights that were battery powered. Make sure the lights you buy don’t have to be plugged in and operate either on battery or solar power.
And that’s it! Darken the room, sit back, and let the beautiful new atmosphere better than that of candlelight take over the space around you.
wow just wow