Cheap, Cute, and Movable Porch Lighting

I bought some fun solar-powered lights as a gift for a family member's front garden, and while shopping for them I got a little jealous.  See, I have a back porch/deck that is above my townhouse's garage.  I like to sit on it during the day, but I think it might be nice to sit out there in the evenings as well (probably with some kind of mosquito-repelling candle or device and a beverage of some kind).  The problem is that the "official" light on my porch is a bit glaring and I really wanted something nicer to sit under that wouldn't work quite so hard against my mosquito candle/device.  So the problem was: how can I have cute lighting on my porch that would be more subtle than my light fixture that is out there?  And could it also be cheap, please?

To be honest, the first idea I had involved string lights, AKA "Christmas lights" for those of you who are biased against using them during non-winter seasons.  However, it seems that unless you are in college or a Gretchen Wilson fan, it isn't *actually* cool or subtle to leave up Christmas lights all year long.  Geez!  People sure can be judgemental, huh?        

Next I thought: Hey!  I have containers on my porch that are growing tomatoes and snapdragons and geraniums.  I could just jam some cute solar lights in those!  Well, yeah.  I could have.  However, to move the lights I would then have to move the flowers as well.  Didn't wanna do that.  I realized that portability was also a factor.  

The third iteration of thought was that I could fill different flower pots with plain dirt and "plant" my lights.  This seemed like a winning idea, but would then involve me having to deal with the pot o' dirt in the off-season for porch sitting.  Since the off-season is most of the year in Minnesota, that seemed like a lot of trouble.  Add ease of storage to the list of requirements.    

Then I saw a fun idea on Pinterest that showed turning a terracotta flower pot upside down and putting the stake for a solar light in the hole, making the pot essentially a freely movable stand for the light.   This was perfect.  Genius even!  Except....

I went to Menard's and none of the solar lights would fit in the puny little holes in the pots.  Unless I bought huge and expensive pots.  Grrr!  No!  On the spot I decided I would triumph over this project.  Terracotta pots be damned!  

The solution was surprisingly easy...and located on the end-cap of the terracotta pot aisle: plastic pots.  I selected super-cheap pots (like $0.89 each) that matched the turquoise of my chair cushion and other porch accessories, and I bought cheap but well-enough-made solar lights ($2.49 each on sale).  Then I came home and cut a hole in the bottom of each pot--very carefully using a box cutter--to fit the stakes on the lights.  

The light/stand combo worked with only one problem: the plastic pots were much lighter than terracotta, so the lights-in-pots were fairly top heavy.  That was solved by duct-taping a few rocks from my front garden to the inside edge of the pots.  Three rocks per light and the finished product has been stable through wind and rain.  

And--Voila!--I now have three light-weight, easily-movable, easy-to-store, sustainable, and fun lights for my back porch.  All for under $10.  Yay!  Now all I need is a free night at home to go out and enjoy them....