DIY Outdoor Lighting For A Table

I'm taking small steps...unintentionally...towards making our patio look beautiful. I thought for sure by this time this year it would be done. But....well, it's not. Which I guess is fine :) It already looks a ton better with the benches added to the farmhouse table. Now I just need to get some chairs for the ends and other seating...and well, there's a lot more stuff I want to do but won't get into it.

But for now, I figure I might as well figure out some of the lighting. I hung up the shepherds hooks to string some lights, but apparently there are no white 'Christmas' lights for sale in August. Figures. And I can't find my tub full of them. So I guess I have to wait until the stores start selling stuff for Christmas, which, lucky for me, is probably only a couple of weeks away :) Heck, I bet if I check Hobby Lobby right now they will have some Christmas stuff. lol

Okay...so besides that...I wanted lighting for the table too. I had my humongous candle lantern out there for a little bit, and loved it...but it's hot and those are real candles...and real candles melt in the heat apparently. So that didn't last long. I needed fake candles. So I went and bought an awesome lantern with a fake candle in it...and well, it looks better in my living room :) It never made it outside lol.

But then I got to thinking about solar lights. Those would work perfect. But how do you put them on your table without gagging at the site?....especially the ones I ended up getting for a buck a piece. Not the prettiest ones ;)

Okay, so here's what you need to make one of these outdoor light fixtures:
Solar lights
Spray paint
Painters tape
4x4 wood pieces varying in size
Paint
Drill bit and drill
Jute

Step 1: Disassemble the lights. The top should come off and you won't need the bottom.

Step 2: Place painters tape over the 'solar reflector'. I'm not sure what this is really called. But you get my drift :) Also place the tape on the light just in case you get paint on it.

Step 3: Spray paint the tops.

Step 4: Paint your wood using your desired technique. I distressed these a bit with a new technique I'm trying and looove. I'll tell you about it soon :)

Step 5: Drill into the center of the top piece of wood. Go about an inch down. Make sure your drill bit is large enough to fit the 'glass' piece of the solar light. "Glass" as in plastic :). If you don't have a bit large enough, like me...mine was just a tad bit too small...just circle it around the hole a little to make the opening bigger.

Step 6: Assemble. Place the "glass" piece into the wood. Place the top on top...

Step 7: Round 'em up with some jute or rope...or just leave them. Put them in a row. Whatever.

And there you go! I like this for the table because it's hefty. We get some crazy mighty winds around here, so I needed something that wouldn't blow away.

Plus, now I don't have to worry about the candles...or batteries :) For the most part, these solar lights will last awhile. Well, maybe... I guess they were $1 for a reason lol. We'll see how long they last. But luckily....they are easy to change out.

The total cost of this project was $5. $1 per light and the wood and paint I had on hand.

I'm excited to see how this  looks at night! I'm still wondering about the green ones though...I may just end up spraypainting them all white. What do you think? I thought adding green would add a little interest. I'm not sure.....