DIY Cute Outdoor Lanterns To Give Your Porch A Glow Up On A Dollar Tree Budget

If you're growing tired of the current look of your porch, an easy way to spruce it up is to upgrade its lighting. Not only will this enhance your home's front porch, but the extra lighting will also make coming home in the evenings or leaving in the early mornings before it's light out a little more comfortable. The best part is, you don't have to spend a lot of money to upgrade the lighting on your porch. In fact, by purchasing just a few items from Dollar Tree, you can actually DIY your own stylish outdoor lanterns on a budget.

Before you get concerned about the location of your electrical outlets on the porch, rest assured knowing that these adorable DIY outdoor lanterns are solar powered. This means you won't have to worry about running any pesky extension cords, or having to spend money to replace batteries for the lights. All you'll need to do is make sure that every so often the lights are placed in the sun during the day so they can recharge, and then they can be moved back into place to illuminate your porch at night. Another benefit of these DIY outdoor lanterns is that they are extremely easy to make, and don't require any knowledge of electrical tools. All you'll really need are the materials themselves from Dollar Tree, along with your trusty hot glue gun. And of course, any crafting materials you want to use to spruce up the outdoor lanterns and make them unique.

You can easily create a gorgeous lantern with just a few simple items from The Dollar Tree. You will need a vase, tin bucket or galvanized planter, decorative rocks or pebbles to fill it, fake flowers, twine or burlap, solar lights, and a hot glue gun. To give the solar lamps a glowy look, you will need a spray can of frosted spray paint. Keep in mind this isn't something you'll find at Dollar Tree, but Rust-Oleum Frosted Glass Spray Paint is available for purchase from Amazon.

Next, spray the exterior of the vase with the frosted spray paint, and set it aside to dry. Then, start to assemble the solar lamp. First, flip the planter bucket upside down. This will be the base of the solar lamp. Use your hot glue gun to attach the vase to the bottom of the bucket. Once it's attached, fill the vase with the decorative pebbles. Then start to personalize and decorate the solar lamps. You can either use burlap ribbon to wrap around the base of the lantern and attach a bouquet of faux lavender for a lovely rustic look, or feel free to have fun with this and make it your own. You can wrap the whole galvanized planter with twine, or skip it altogether for a more streamlined look. When you're finished decorating, simply set the lighting in with the rocks, place the lantern on your porch, and enjoy your upgraded lighting.

Using frosted glass spray on the vase before you slip the solar light inside is a great way to give the lanterns a glowy effect. While you can certainly spray the whole vase and leave it at that, you can also make these outdoor lanterns truly unique by using stencils to create decorative patterns on the vase with the frosting spray. To start, acquire some fun stencil designs. Any spray paint or vinyl stencils will do; however, you should probably choose a smaller one that has more delicate and thin lines instead of one with a thicker pattern because the vases aren't very big.

Once you have your stencils, stick them onto the vase so they form the design you want. If you're using a stencil with a thicker design, you could apply it to the whole vase and spray a uniform pattern onto the glass. Alternatively, only apply the stencil around the top part of the vase to create an accent, and spray everything below it. Another idea is to get stencils of small delicate designs like hummingbirds, stars, and fairies to create a whimsical looking outdoor lantern. If you really want to lean into that approach, try substituting these Soltuus Rechargeable Fairy String Lights for the solar stake. After you've let them charge for a while, gently pile them inside the vase to create an elegant lantern. Another option is to use rope to turn them into DIY enchanting hanging lanterns.