An oil lamp, or oil candle, is one of the oldest form of light source to mankind. According to Wikipedia, there are stone oil lamps dated back 10,000 to 15,000 years ago! Today, we will talk about how oil lamps work, which kind of oil and wick to use, and how to make an easy and beautiful mason jar oil lamp in just minutes!
3 reasons I love mason jar oil lamp:
- So easy yet so pretty, a mason jar oil lamp takes only 2 minutes to make using vegetable oils and water!
- Even safer than candles: if the oil lamp is knocked over, the flame would be immediately extinguished by the oil and water. Still, please follow basic safety steps and don’t leave the lamp unattended!
- Bright and long lasting: 1 tablespoon of oil can last 2 hours as an oil burning candle!
These oil lamps can be a practical low cost light source, they are also the perfect easy decorations for dinner parties and festive gatherings!
(Update: we made many variations of mason jar oil candles you will see here, plus lots of helpful tips and FAQs at the end, don’t miss ! )
How do oil lamps work?
The earliest oil lamps use vegetable oil as fuel, and later versions of oil lamps burn kerosene or lamp oil drawn up through a wick by capillary action. We will be making the vegetable oil version here.
Which kind of oil and wick to use?
Lamps that use kerosene or lamp oil has wicks specially made for this purpose. These long cotton wicks are not suitable for vegetable oil lamps because cooking oils have high viscosity.
To be honest, I tried some oil lamp tutorials with long cotton wicks and vegetable oil , and failed completely! The long wicks simply don’t draw up enough oil and would burn up and and the flame would go out. These floating wicks work beautifully for all cooking oils! ( Some of the helpful resources are affiliate links. Full disclosure here. )
How to make an easy and beautiful mason jar oil lamp in just minutes!
Materials for our DIY oil lamp:
- Large floating wicks: These floating wicks work beautifully for all vegetable oils and each wick lasts through many uses!
- vegetable oil: 1 tablespoon of oil can last 2 hours. Olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil and many others all work well.
- mason jars, glass bottles, water, and some decorative elements such as flowers, pine cones, pebbles, etc.
- You can infuse your oil with herbs, spices or essential oils for a lovely fragrance!
Or, make some infused oils easily! Here are the tutorials: how to make herbal oils or rose oil.
Step 1: gather some glass bottles and jars, fill with flowers or other treasures. Cover with water.
Step 2: pour some vegetable oil on top, till the oil form a layer of about 1/4″ thick.
The large floating wicks come with discs and small waxed wicks. Insert a piece of the waxed wicks half way through the center hole on the disc, and put it on top of the oil layer.
Now light your oil candle and enjoy the beautiful glow!
The flowers and fruits will last a whole week in the water.
Pine cones, pebbles, beads are all great additions too! Red holly berries, cranberries, and conifer clippings are great for the holiday season.
To extinguish the flame, just put the lids on the jars. The floating wicks can stay in there.
Here are some new one we just made!
An update on some additional tips and FAQs:
- After many uses, the waxed wick will burn off, just replace it with a small piece of pre-waxed wick that you can cut into small pieces. The floating disc can last a very long time.
- some flowers will float to the top, you can hold the stem down with some small rocks, glass beads etc
- add food coloring in the water for a special effect!
- light olive oil and sunflower seed oil burns quite clean, I have not notice smoke except for when they are extinguished.
- fake plants will work too, just keep them away from the flame!
Thanks to everyone who asked these great questions!
Related Article: Easiest DIY Hanging Glass Jar Lanterns
Some more nature inspired fun for you: Make botanical ice luminaries-
Make wreaths without using wreath forms! ( a Dollar Store hack)
Dimensional paper flower lanterns!
Have a lovely weekend everyone! xo
candy
November 24, 2015 at 7:43 amLove these. They are beautiful and look easy.
Heather Davis
November 24, 2015 at 10:16 amThese are beautiful!
Kathryn With Going Zero Waste
November 24, 2015 at 10:48 amI love this so much!! Being a minimalist and not buying things in packaging, I don’t decorate very much. My favorite place is an olive oil store. They have the most amazing infused olive oils, and I have a garden. This is the absolute most perfect centerpiece! I know how I’m decorating my tables from now on.
ananda
November 25, 2015 at 8:50 pmthank you kathryn! =)
Dimple
November 12, 2016 at 12:52 amI liked your mason oil lamps a lot & made two of them too. I did not have floating wicks so I made them from cotton & covered with aluminium foil.It worked perfectly!!!Thankyou.
Olga Munroe
November 25, 2015 at 8:52 amThank you so much for this idea!! Nothing matches the beauty of candle light. But when it is time to light up my courtyard and home it can get pricey! and unless you use bees wax, it’s not environmentally friendly. I love that I can use what is available in my garden and in my home(oil/mason jars).
Thanks again.
ananda
November 25, 2015 at 8:44 pmenjoy and happy thanksgiving olga! =)
Tina Coco
November 25, 2015 at 9:07 amLove these!! I actually bought a box of floating candles years ago and never did anything with them. What a great idea!! I’ll be doing this for my Thanksgiving table!! Thank You so much!! Color me excited!!
ananda
November 25, 2015 at 8:44 pmenjoy and happy thanksgiving Tina! =)
Chamoise
November 25, 2015 at 10:20 amJust so lovely! And magic!
Thank’s and have a nice december time…
ananda
November 25, 2015 at 8:49 pmhi chamoise! thank you and happy december to you! =) (tried to leave you a comment but can’t find the button! ) xo
Lisa
November 25, 2015 at 12:00 pmSo creative and beautiful!
ananda
November 25, 2015 at 8:44 pmthank you lisa! =)
Kim
November 25, 2015 at 1:14 pmSo pretty and so easy..thanks for the idea
Angie
November 25, 2015 at 1:17 pmOh that’s beautiful! I really like those.
jennyb
November 26, 2015 at 1:29 amI love all those ideas. Thank you so much for posting them.
Kam Kay
November 26, 2015 at 4:56 amSimply beautiful. All these look amazing!
Arti
November 27, 2015 at 12:48 amThese are stunning Ananda. So elegant and beautiful. Thank you and wishing you and your family Happy Thanksgiving. xx
LZ@ The Summery Umbrella
November 27, 2015 at 6:30 pmAnanda, I swear you come up with the most creative and truly gorgeous diy’s and crafts!! I definitely have a million mason jars around the house that are itching for this upgrade!
Angie @ Knick of Time
December 1, 2015 at 10:30 pmThese are gorgeous, and look so simple to make. Thanks for sharing how you did it – Pinned!
Sheila Simpson
December 3, 2015 at 6:03 amBeautiful and thank you for sharing
Shirley J Whiting
December 3, 2015 at 10:14 amHave you tried silk flowers in these? If so how long do they last and do they bleed the color?
ananda
December 4, 2015 at 9:07 amhi shirley, i am sure silk flowers will work great! you may need to weigh them down with small pebbles/rocks. if they are washable, the colors should stay. =)
Linda at Mixed Kreations
December 4, 2015 at 7:46 amThese are all so pretty! I love them all, but the Rose is my favorite. Does vegetable oil burn cleaner? I know with regular oil lamps they can leave a dark spot on the ceiling above. Thanks for sharing your lovely oil lamps. Pinning and sharing!
ananda
December 4, 2015 at 8:56 amhi lina, thank you! =) light olive oil and sunflowers oil are among the cleanest. i have not notice smoke at all!
Donita
December 5, 2015 at 2:27 pmCan you use any floating candles? I have all sizes. Love how beautiful they all are. Thanks for sharing
ananda
December 6, 2015 at 1:20 pmhi donita! yes, if you use floating candles instead of floating wicks, there’s no need for the oil. =)
Emma
January 16, 2016 at 6:45 amvery cool!
you
January 20, 2016 at 9:25 amthank you. Very beautiful
giggleefei
February 10, 2016 at 8:54 pmWow. Must spent a lot of time writting this artical?because its sooo in detail and so great. sooo cute jar. will definitely try out.
Pandoraflora
https://www.pandoraflora.com
Erin
February 21, 2016 at 6:38 pmBeautiful! quick question- how long do the wicks last on average??
Patricia
February 23, 2016 at 5:50 amThese are stunning and look so easy to make but where can I get the wicks from thanx
ananda
February 23, 2016 at 11:47 amthe link is in the materials list in article! =)
wangsong
February 25, 2016 at 7:14 amThey look stunning beautiful, i will try it out for myself!
Marie Swindon
March 21, 2016 at 3:31 amThis is such a lovely idea! A great way to recycle some old jars and my girls will just love these lamps. E=We are recently trying to recycle everything old and useless ta home and here’s a lovely project for us. Thanks for the inspiration!
tim
June 23, 2016 at 5:34 pmThis is such a lovely idea! A great way to recycle some old jars and my girls will just love these lamps
Charlotte Safadi
August 2, 2016 at 3:09 amHej. Jeg synes simpelthen de er så flotte de krukker med blomster og lys. Jeg forsøgte at bestille de såkaldte “store flydende vægger”, men der stod, at de kunne ikke sendes til min addresse, hvordan fik du fat i dine. Har du fundet en dansk butik hvor de forhandler dem.?
Charlotte. Frederikshavn.
ananda
August 2, 2016 at 10:23 amhi charlotte, perhaps try to thinly slice a wine cork and insert a candle wick in it? or search if anyone carries floating wicks in your country? =)
Alder Knight
September 2, 2016 at 10:40 pmHey there, none of the links for wicks seem to work, they all just link me back to this article. Do you have a suggestion of where to purchase the ones you use here? Thanks!
ananda
September 3, 2016 at 7:56 amhi alder, thanks for letting me know! the link is fixed now! =) if you are still having trouble let me know and i will add one here.
Dimple
November 12, 2016 at 10:46 pmThank you for such a beautiful idea. I too made these jars,I used cotton wicks & aluminium foil for making floating wicks.These were perfect!!!!Thankyou once again & Blessings!
ananda
November 14, 2016 at 3:42 pmthank you so much for sharing!! 🙂
Catherine Fortenberry
November 17, 2016 at 4:40 pmThank you so much, great idea!
Michelle
December 21, 2016 at 5:28 amOMW these are stunning Ananda and thanks for updating the tips. I’ve been looking for something to add to our Christmas table decor and these are perfect.
Malikah
March 13, 2017 at 9:14 amWhat happens to the materials that are used for decoration in the jars? Do they burn or will the wick burn around them? Just curious
ananda
March 13, 2017 at 9:13 pmhi! they need to be replaced after a week, the water will keep them fresh for about a week, the wick only burns the layer of oil above =)
AnnaMarie
April 30, 2017 at 7:29 pmHi! Love love love the Mason jars! Question…what can i put in the water to deter and repel these damn mosquitos?? Lemons? Anything else?? Thanks in advance! ?
ananda
May 1, 2017 at 7:21 amhi annemarie, i found lemon eucalyptus essential oil to be very effective when we went to florida , more details here http://www.apieceofrainbow.com/make-mosquito-repellent/
although i have not been able to test these oils in the mason jar candles here because we have few mosquitoes in southern california 🙂
Basilelle
May 23, 2017 at 3:25 pmHi! Thank you for sharing the fab project. Would using 100% oil keep real flowers from deteriorating? Thanks!!!!!
ananda
May 23, 2017 at 10:25 pmhi basielle, i don’t think so, because fresh plant materials can still rot in oil. =)
Kerri
June 13, 2017 at 3:58 amHas anyone tried this with clear lamp oil? I purchased some for another project and have lots left over.
Jessica
August 30, 2017 at 11:32 pmAmazing work Ananda! This is truly a creative side of yours.
Emily
September 9, 2017 at 8:45 amI love this idea! Can;t wait to make some for my home, and great gift ideas too! I’m curious, which are the fruits/vegetables/flowers/nature pieces I could use that would last the longest amount of time without going bad?
ananda
September 11, 2017 at 6:32 pmhi emily! the plants with thick leathery leaves last longest =) faux plants are also good for this !
Jessica
September 26, 2017 at 9:48 amThese are beautiful! I absolutely love the creativity and uniqueness of the candles! 🙂
Carol Blair
October 2, 2017 at 4:51 pmFirst I love the candle idea. I have made a couple so far but I am having trouble getting the wick to stay in the center of the jar. Any ideas of what I am not doing correct?
Thanks
ananda
October 2, 2017 at 8:07 pmhi carol!
the wick can float to the side sometimes. if the jar sits on a level surface, it should be pretty easy to push the wick more towards center. =)
Wilma Turcotte
November 16, 2017 at 5:54 amJust love all your ideas and so glad I found you. Using real cranberries and cedar how long will they last? Couldn’t get the tutorial for making pinecones and greenery white. Thanks Amanda.
ananda
November 16, 2017 at 6:45 amhi wilma, cedar lasts a month at least. you can use artificial berries because cranberries would not last for a week. 🙂
Karen L
November 21, 2017 at 6:23 amHi – can you just clarify which wicks you use? I followed the link in materials and in the article too and it opens up an amazon page, but there are quite a few different types of floating wick. Love your candles – they look amazing! Thank you.
ananda
November 21, 2017 at 7:37 amhi karen, thank you! these are the ones i used ( my amazon affiliate link) – http://amzn.to/2jbPFRa
happy creating!
Tracy
August 27, 2018 at 3:14 pmIs the water necessary? Or can I just fill the whole jar with the oil? Would using just oil prevent the other things in there from going bad? Thanks!
ananda
August 27, 2018 at 8:47 pmhi tracy, i don’t think the oil would preserve the fresh cuttings, and water is so much easier to clean up than a jar of oil, and less waste of oil also. 🙂
Vicki
November 9, 2018 at 12:37 amThese are fantastic! But is there a way to make the lamps last more than just a week? It would be so neat to make these as Christmas presents, but a week wouldn’t last long enough to give as a gift. Any suggestions?
ananda
November 9, 2018 at 5:11 amhi vicki, thank you for the wonderful suggestion! like anything with fresh cut flowers, it would be challenging, but i will think of some ideas and let you know when i find a good alternative! 🙂
Phoenix
November 13, 2018 at 10:39 amUnfortunately they don’t sell such wicks in my country 🙁 would standard long cotton wicks work?
ananda
November 13, 2018 at 2:02 pmhi! you can make a small floating wick easily, it’s just a short candle wick inserted into a small float, for example a slice of wine cork, i have even seen people using a piece of plastic from a bottle! =)
Julie Dupuis
November 18, 2018 at 7:31 amI am just wondering how many drops of essential oil you would reccomend using? I know its depends on how much scent you’d like or how strong, but on average how manybdrops?
ananda
November 18, 2018 at 7:52 amhi julie, i’d say 5-10 drops. 🙂
Jackie Sutt
March 10, 2019 at 8:14 amWould love to make these for gifts. Is there a problem in transporting them? Not thinking of mailing, lol. Just transporting in my car. Perhaps make up, put oil in place, but tie on a small gift envelope with the wick and instructions? Have you any suggestions?
LOVE these. I’ve got my wicks and collecting jars.
ananda
March 11, 2019 at 1:28 pmhi jackie, i think the gift envelope with the wick and instructions is a great idea! 🙂
Jessi
March 29, 2019 at 10:26 amLove these! Want to try some when my peony roses bloom! I have read in several articles where adding oil to water can make your lamp cloudy and possibly cause bacteria to grow in the vegetation. Have you had that problem with any of yours?
ananda
March 29, 2019 at 8:01 pmhi Jessi,
i only keep fresh flowers and leaves in the water for 3 days to a week, and then wash everything to start fresh. 🙂