Going Green How-To #1: What you can do with $15 that will brighten up your house

I saw these sun jars on Charles & Marie late last year and I thought they were just the neatest idea. Originally created by designer Tobias Wong, what better way to lower your energy bills, brighten up your house in a more green way and add some pizazz here and there? The $44 price tag is a little steep for my wallet, so since then I’ve been meaning to make a few for some of my ultra-green friends. Making them yourself seems super-easy and cheap (under $15)!
[I will report back later after I've tried my hand at a couple, but I wanted to share the DIY methods I've found]

What you’ll need:
An Ikea glass jar, or similar-sized jar ($3)
A solar garden light ($10 or so)
Rechargeable batteries, typically AA
Nondescript tape
Thin, pretty paper

Screwdriver
Maybe a utility blade

To assemble:

1. Yank out the “solar bits” of the solar light using the screwdriver/blade
2. Make sure you’ve got your batteries in
3. Line the jar with the pretty paper if you’d like a fancier glow
4. Settle the solar bits into the jar and secure with nondescript tape if you think it’s too shaky

Leave your sun jar in the window or on the porch in full view of sunlight and the solar bits will light up later on once it gets dark enough. Leaving it in the window during the day should be enough to recharge the batteries as well. So simple! Enjoy your energy-saving, snazzy-looking experiment and let me know if you have success with these!

[via instructables.com; image]