How To Make A Mason Jar Oil Lamp

DIY Mason Jar Oil Lamps: Simple to make and so beautiful. Perfect for a party, wedding centrepiece, or just in your home.

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Mason Jar Oil Lamp Materials:
Mason Jar Oil Lamp Tutorial Instructions:
Mason Jar Oil Lamps
Choosing Your Lamp Oil
Can You Use Olive Oil In A Mason Jar Oil Lamp?
Finding Supplies
More Craft Inspiration

In these dark days of January, I thought a little light filled project would add some warmth and brightness. These Mason Jar Oil Lamps are pretty simple to put together, and are really, really pretty. They make a lovely gift for someone. These mason jar oil candles are also perfect for a romantic atmosphere or dinner date setting. They're also perfect for outdoor use

Mason Jar Oil Lamp Materials:

3 different small mason jars with lids
Paraffin Lamp Oil
Nipples ⅛”
Cotton Lamp Wick
Couplings ⅛”
Washers ⅛”

Mason Jar Oil Lamp Tutorial Instructions:

1. The first step in making your beautiful mason jar oil lamp is to drill a hole in the canning jar lid. I found it a little tricky to get it in the center of the lid, and found drilling a small hole first, and then the larger ⅛” one worked best. It still isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t need to be, so don’t worry. Once you've done your first jar lid, repeat this process for the rest of the lamps you're making.

2. Next, you thread the nipple through the hole, so it’s about half way through each side, and then add the washer and screw the coupling onto the top of the lid.

3. Cut a piece of the cotton wick with enough length of wick so that it is a little longer than the depth of your jar and thread it through the mason jar lid. Fill up your mason jar with lamp oil. The remaining length of the wick will rest on the bottom of the jar, and you can pull it up as necessary. Save your remaining lamp wicks that you've cut off to use as extra wicks in the future.

4. Now, screw on the lid on to the top of the jar, with just a little wick at the top. If the wick is too long, it will cause the lamp to smoke, in which case you can trim it shorter, or push it down to make it shorter. Give the wick a bit of time to soak up the oil before lighting it for the first time.

Mason Jar Oil Lamps

You could make these with any size mason jars you like, and there is even coloured lamp oil, if you prefer. I liked the clear oil with the glass.

Choosing Your Lamp Oil

There are different options when it comes to choosing the type of lamp oil to use in your mason jar oil lamp burner. We went paraffin lamp oil as it's a clean burning oil. It's also quite easy to find at any hardware store. If you were using these lamps in an outdoor space and wanted to keep the bugs away with a scented flame you could also use citronella oil in them. You can also alter the smell of your oil by adding drops of essential oil, such as lavender essential oil, cinnamon oil, peppermint oil, or any of your favourite essential oils.

Can You Use Olive Oil In A Mason Jar Oil Lamp?

Olive oil and vegetable oil has been used for thousands of years as a lamp fuel. Cooking oils are easily available and burn very cleanly. The problem with using it here is that the olive oil is thicker than lamp oil and doesn't absorb up the wick as well. I haven't tried using it. You could experiment with different wicks. A floating wick works better with vegetable or olive oil because it's floats on the surface and doesn't have to travel up the wick. Olive oil isn't flammable like lamp oil, so that the wick can float on the surface. It might be fun to experiment with different designs to try modify our design to work with a floating wick.

Finding Supplies

The lamp oil, wicks and the nipples and couplings can be found in your hardware store. Look for the nipples and couplings in the lighting supplies section. You may also find wicks at your craft store near the candle craft supplies section.

I think they’d be really lovely as wedding centrepieces, and I think I’ll use mine for an upcoming party.