I love adding personal touches to my backyard and garden space, and outdoor lights are one of my all-time favorites. There’s something magical about hosting an outdoor gathering—warm breezes, cool drinks, and the perfect playlist set the scene for those summer vibes. A simple way to make your yard feel welcoming is by adding lighting, allowing you to relax, dine, and connect with friends and family long after the sun sets.
If you enjoy the outdoors as much as I do, you’ll find plenty of inspiration in these charming and easy DIY outdoor lighting ideas. Perfect for gardens, patios, porches, backyard parties, and more, these ideas will help you create a cozy and inviting atmosphere.
When the sun goes down, the party can keep going! That’s why I’ve gathered these gorgeous DIY outdoor lighting ideas that add a beautiful glow to any backyard or patio space.
Most of these DIY lighting ideas take less than an hour to put together, and you’ll only need a few basic materials. Items like mason jars, string lights, solar lights, and tin cans can be transformed into lovely lighting options for your porch or patio with minimal effort.
These creative, handmade lighting ideas are an affordable and simple way to get your backyard ready for summer nights.
1. Upcycled Detergent Bottle Petal Lights
This lovely garden petal light is an excellent example of a DIY recycling project. They are made with empty detergent bottles. It is a very elegant garden light that comes with almost no cost and is very easy to make. Once you have all the materials, it takes just 10 minutes. Source/Tutorial: instructables
2. Rattan Ball String Lights
I just love these DIY outdoor lights. Simply adorable and easy to make. Like, no tools required WHATSOEVER. If you already have twinkle lights on hand, this project will cost you around one dollar. These rattan balls are cool inside or outside, and the little spheres can be spray-painted in any color you like before they pop onto the twinkle lights. For the most part, the balls hold on just fine without any help, but you can apply a little hot glue to keep them more secure. Source/Tutorial: craftybutt
3. DIY Muslin Firefly Lights
Muslin is a very useful material. You can easily make these beautiful muslin firefly lights for your garden or patio. To start, just take muslin strips and use them to create the lanterns using battery-operated tealights. You will be surprised to see the final result. Source/Tutorial: blahblahmagazine
4. DIY Hanging Mason Jar Solar Lights
If you love Mason Jar DIYs, then you will love this DIY Outdoor Lighting Idea. Is solar lighting a great way to light up your garden? These homemade solar lights, you can hang them on trees or make it a centerpiece of your room. These can fit anywhere (provided there is good sunlight). The best part is that they are super easy to make. I simply love Mason jar home decorating projects. Source/Tutorial: findinghomeonline.com
5. DIY Colorful Solar Lanterns
Light up summer nights outdoors with colorful DIY solar lanterns. This is an easy, inexpensive craft that goes pretty quickly. Small solar lights and glass frost paint turn ordinary jars into a string of environmentally friendly mood lights to enhance your backyard or garden. Besides its great look, the best thing about this DIY is that the sun does all the work, so you’ll never have to flip a light switch! If a light exhausts its lifespan, you can replace it for less than a dollar. Check out the step-by-step tutorial. Source/Tutorial: cherylstyle
6. Rustic DIY Lighted Garden Gate
This garden gate gives your garden a nice rustic look, and the beauty magnifies with lighting. Once you finish the gate, you can add beautiful lights. Let me tell you, the gate is really simple to create. Imagine lying down on the grass with the beautiful lights on your top. Source/Tutorial: kojo-designs.com
7. Ribbon Paper Bag Garden Lights
These ribbon paper bag lights are the perfect way to light up your outdoors. These outdoor lights are perfect when you organize a party. To make these DIY lights, all you need is some lights, colorful paper bags, and ribbon to make them. Source/Tutorial: marthastewart.com
8. Upcycled Toilet Paper Roll Lanterns
I am a big fan of polka-dot crafts. Here is a fun way to add a festive garland to a party that adds some cool lighting when the sun goes down: Polka Dot Paper Lanterns. Even better, these will cost almost nothing because you use empty toilet paper rolls! Check out the step-by-step instructions for further details. Source/Tutorial: justcraftyenough
Pin This Collection of DIY Outdoor Lighting Projects for your reference.
