9 Quick And Simple Outdoor Uses For Old Mason Jars

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Pantry organizers, vases, candle holders — these are just a few of the creative ways to use Mason jars inside the house. And they are just as versatile outdoors too. We’ve gathered nine ideas for using these glass jars outside your home. And the best part? They’re all quick and easy to make. Most of them come together in just a few minutes and use minimal materials.

Mason jars work so well for a variety of outdoor upcycling ideas, like lights and bird feeders, because of their compact size and the durable glass construction. They can handle the outdoor weather, so the DIYs you make will last. Plus, they have that natural nostalgic look that dresses up the finished products.

You can wash and use Mason jars that you already have on hand or buy new ones. It’s also a good idea to check thrift stores and estate sales to find lower-cost jars. Most of these projects can also be adapted to use empty food jars if you want to keep them low-cost and eco-friendly. There are also plenty of genius ways to reuse old Mason jar lids in your yard and garden, so the tops won’t go to waste, either.

You can attract more birds to your yard with an easy Mason jar hack: turning it into a bird feeder. There are plenty of ways to do it, but one of the easiest is using a wooden spoon as the perch. Use hot glue and wire to attach the spoon horizontally to a Mason jar that’s on its side — the spoon’s head should sit right near the opening of the jar so the birds can perch on it to feed easily. You’ll also need wire or twine to hang the jar from a branch. 

If you want an even easier bird feeder option, grab a product like the Nicerinc Pet Bird Feeder Kit. It comes with a hanger and a plastic feeder tray. You simply fill a Mason jar with bird seeds and screw the tray on top of the jar. Then, you can flip it over, so the seeds spill out into the tray. The wire hangers let you easily put the feeder on a tree branch or shepherd’s hook.

Your patio gets a pretty makeover with this quick and easy outdoor lantern. It just requires you to glue flat gemstones over the outside of the Mason jar. It takes a little longer to line the flattened marbles up well to get full coverage. However, you can glue them on randomly to finish the job faster if you’re okay with some gaps between the marbles. It still creates a pretty glow when you put a battery-powered candle inside the jar.

Another project also uses colorful glass gemstones or marbles, but they go inside the jar for this version. And instead of using a candle, you’ll use a Dollar Tree solar light stake. Remove the stake part — you only need the light portion with the solar panel. Take the flat part of the lid off and press the solar light into the ring. Then, screw on the lid and place the luminary in a sunny spot to power up the light. At night, it shines down on the glass pieces below to scatter the light into a whimsical display.

Use old Mason jars and olive oil to create garden decor with this DIY. You’ll wrap a length of wire around a candle wick and make a little hook to hang the wire over the edge of the jar to hold up the wick. Pour olive oil into the jar almost to the top. Then crush fresh herbs and push them down into the oil to add scent to the candles. You can place the jars on an outdoor tabletop. Or, make a hanger from wire if you want to hang up the candles. 

Transform an old Mason jar into enchanting fairy garden decor with just a few supplies. This DIY starts with a little moss in the bottom of the jar. Tuck little fairy garden decorations, like mushrooms or fairies, into the moss. You can hot glue them in place to keep them from tipping over. Then, bundle a strand of battery- or solar-powered fairy lights inside the jar to look like stars or fireflies lighting up the scene. Hang it from a tree or place it on a patio table.

Another quick project that makes your patio more comfortable is turning Mason jars into tiki torches. The coupler and fiel for this DIY aren’t exactly common but they’re simple enough to find. Drill a hole in the flat lid of a wide-mouth Mason jar and push a copper coupling reducer through the hole. Then, push a tiki wick through the coupler and adjust it so it touches the bottom of the jar. Cut the wick to about ½ inch above the top of the coupler. Pour tiki fuel inside the jar and light the wick. Place it away from anything that’s flammable.

Buy food-safe jar pumps, like these Watsango Mason Jar Dispensers, to create cute condiment dispensers for your barbecues. Cut the hose potion to length and fill jars with your favorite condiments. If you have an outdoor kitchen, keep these Mason jar dispensers in the outdoor fridge until you need them. Otherwise, bring them out when you entertain or eat outdoors.

If you eat outdoors or entertain frequently, having an outdoor plastic silverware caddy comes in handy, and Mason jars are the perfect size. To keep it all together, glue three Mason jars into a triangle-type shape. You can paint the jars first or leave them plain. You can also tie twine, ribbon, or fabric around them as a fun little accent. To dress up the tops, spray paint the rings and screw them onto the jars. Then, fill the jars with plastic utensils.