Simple DIY Hanging Tea Light Holders Made In Just Minutes

Simple DIY hanging tea light holders are so much fun to make. They’re a quick and easy project that can be done in an afternoon.

They are inexpensive and can be used in many different places around your home and outdoor living space.

There is something so relaxing about the subtle glowing light that emits from a candle. These tea light holders provide that ambiance to your space.

They are a bit rustic and overall pretty charming. So, grab yourself some supplies and make a few, or more, for your space today.

Supplies You’ll Need To Make These DIY Lights

Most of the things you’ll need to make diy hanging tea light holders are probably already hanging around your house.

I made about half a dozen of them without purchasing a thing. And I could have made plenty more.

Here’s a list of the things you’ll need for your reference …

Mason Jars – Wide mouth, half pint size mason jars are suggested for this project. You can use any jar that you like to make these hanging tea light holders. But you may have to adjust the knots in your twine so that it fits the jar snuggly.

Jute Twine – Jute twine is inexpensive and sturdy, it’s a great choice for this project. You will need 18′ of twine to make one candle holder.

Measuring Tape – You will need a measuring tape to measure the jute twine. A flexible sewing tape works perfectly, but any measuring tape will do.

Scissors – You will need a pair of scissors to cut the jute twine.

Tea Lights – Be sure to buy tea lights that are in a mid price range. The cheapest ones don’t always work well. And the very expensive ones can be overrated.

Candle Lighter – Cande lighters are readily available in department and discount stores. They come in very handy to light the tea lights once they are in the mason jars.

How To Make DIY Hanging Tea Light Holders

It’s so incredibly easy to make these diy hanging tea light holders. It can be done in just 10 or 15 minutes.

You’ll start by cutting 6′ lengths of jute twine, you’ll need 3 of them. Then you’ll flay the 3 strands out together and fold them in half. Than tie a knot about 6″ down from the looped end. This will create a loop to hang the candle holder from.

Lay the strands over a table with the loop at the top, and secure them with something pretty heavy. This will give you six strands of twine to work with.

You’ll take two of those strands and tie a knot in them about 12″ from the top loop. Then do the same with two other strands, and repeat again with the last two strands.

About 1 1/2″ down from the knots you’ve made you’re going to tie another knot. This time you will use a strand from one of the bunches of two that you just created, and a strand from another bunch of two that is adjacent to it.

You’ll repeat this action two more times, until all six of the strands are paired up with strands from adjacent pairs.

About 1 1/2″ further down the strands, you’ll repeat this same pattern again.

And then 1 1/2″ down from that you will tie all six strands into a knot.

At this point, you’ll be able to open the top of the weave you created and insert a half pint mason jar, drop in a tea light, and hang your candle holder.

Decorate Your DIY Hanging Tea Light Holders

There are endless ways to decorate a mason jar that is safe to burn a candle in. And if you want to take this project a step further, you can absolutely do that.

I plan to do the very same thing down the road a bit, after I’m settled in to the new homestead.

Here are a few ideas I’m considering to ‘fancy up’ my diy hanging tea light holders …

• Trade out the jute twine for some hemp cord and thread some beads onto the candle holder.
• Make strands of seed beads to use instead of jute twine. To make this work, you will have to use a light string, such as beading thread, to tie the candle holder together where the knots would be in the jute twine.
• Use a decorative ribbon in place of the jute twine.
• Stencil an image on the ball jar.
• Paint a reverse stencil on the jar with spray paint.

Use Votives In Your Candle Holders Without A Waxy Mess

Tea lights are pretty perfect for these candle holders. They pop in and out very easily and leave no mess behind.

No mess is really the beauty of the tea light, in my opinion. I’m not a huge fan of how they look in the hanging jars.

BUT … what if I told you that you could use a votive in these diy hanging tea light holders without a mess as well?!?! It’s true. It can absolutely be done.

Place just a bit of oil, about the size of a dime, in the mason jar before you put the votive in it. The oil will form to the outside of the candle as it burns. And when the candle is used up, the remaining bits will wipe right out of the jar.

I adore this trick, as I feel like votives are much more attractive than tea lights in these holders. And it gives you the ability to add a little color to them too.

This also allows you to coordinate their color with the color scheme of your home or outdoor living area.

And it makes it very easy to coordinate their color with any party theme. So, you can use these candle holders for accent lighting at any event, and they will fit right in.

Where To Use DIY Hanging Tea Light Holders

This is the first time I’m making these adorable little diy hanging tea light holders. So, I’m going cold with ideas of where to use them. But I’ll give it my best shot!

I see them hanging on porches. They could be spaced apart and hung individually, or hung in small groupings of two or three.

I envision them lining a walkway. This would be easiest to do if there were trees along the walkway, as they could be hung from the branches. Or, if the space was conducive to it, you could stretch a length of wire along the walkway and hang them from that.

As a matter of fact, you can hang them on a length of wire just about anywhere. Which is a particularly nice feature, because having the ability to put them where you like is key for entertainment purposes.

They would look great as an accent in any little garden area. I’m thinking I may want to make a few of them for that very purpose once I have some garden areas set up at my new home.

The ones that I’m making today will be hung along the tree line, next to my camper at my new place. I plan to pack them away with everything else so that it feels like I’ve found a treasure when I come across them while unpacking.

How To Care For Your DIY Lights

DIY hanging tea light holders require very little care. If you want to keep them shiny clean you will need to bring them in whenever there is weather that involves precipitation.

Otherwise, they will fill up with water and start to discolor. Additionally, if you are using votives in them, you may have problems lighting them after they’ve been submerged in water.

I already know that I’m not the type of person to run outside to gather my candle holders every time it rains. I’ll bet you don’t think that’s a great idea either.

I plan to put a lid on them when they’re not in use to keep the rain out and just leave them hang right where they are full time.

Again, I’ve never used them before. So I can’t be sure that is going to work. However, I’m not really seeing any reason it wouldn’t, so that’s the plan!

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If you try this project and love it, please give it 5 stars! It supports my work more than you may realize, and I appreciate that a great deal!

You can also show your support by tagging me on Facebook @sustainableslowliving and/or Instagram @slowlivingbydianegail when you post a pic of your finished piece.