The Sweet & Fruity DIY Jar Upcycle That'll Add A Splash Of Style To Your Home Decor

Fun and whimsical décor can be a great way to infuse character and personality into your home. While you can easily spend hundreds of dollars on store-bought items that help elevate your space, a more budget-friendly alternative may be supplies and materials you already have. ArtSkills' YouTube DIY allows you to create an adorable pineapple lantern using an upcycled jar, paper cutouts, and a glue gun. The result is a stunning fruity and tropical accent piece you can make for pennies.

This cute jar is perfect for adding an LED bulb or faux candle inside for a soft romantic glow. You could also flip the project upside down to create a lidded jar perfect for keeping items in. Pineapples are a trendy and stylish design element for their sense of whimsy and abundance of texture. They are also a great accent to incorporate a tropical theme into your home. 

To create this pineapple lantern, flip the jar over, making sure it is clear of all labels and residue. You can use any size jar for the project, including mason jars, which will create a larger lantern. To make the scales for the pineapple, you will need some scrap paper or cardstock. Create a template in the shape of pineapple scales, cutting out enough to cover your jar from top to bottom with a slight overlap. You will add some glue to the bottom corners of each and crease them for a 3D effect. Start gluing them in place at the top, and apply them around the perimeter of the jar, layering slightly until you reach the bottom. Here, you may have to trim the pieces down to fit properly.

For the top of the pineapple, create a template and cut several leaves for the top out of paper. This one uses gold cardstock, but you can also paint them gold on white paper or use another color or material. Curl them slightly for a real look. Attach several leaves around a styrofoam ball, gluing them in place. Then attach the foam ball to the top of the jar with a dab of hot glue.

This is a fun project that offers many avenues for customization, including the choice of paper used for the scales and leaves. The tutorial uses plain white and gold for a glam look, but you can use any colors to fit your décor, including brown and green for more natural vibes. Keep in mind the lighter and thinner your material is, the more light will filter through the paper. Other great semi-transparent suggestions include sheets of colored vellum, wrapping paper, and thick tissue paper. For the leaves, you could also use real pieces of greenery cut to look like pineapple leaves.

For a realistic version with more texture, use wood chips to create your spines, like these Driftwood Wooden Shapes from Amazon. Or use old book pages for the project to create a fun bookish pineapple lantern. Or use silk or plastic leaves along the sides cut into a scalloped shape. You can also slightly modify this cool floral décor accent DIY to create iridescent scales made with wire and dipped in wood glue. These papery lanterns are intended for indoor use, but you could also incorporate laminated paper on the lanterns to light up your outdoor living space.