DIY Hanging Lanterns
In the warmer months when you spend a lot of time outdoors on the porch or patio, hanging lanterns are a great additional source of lighting. Lanterns offer more diffused, soft light than most other forms of outdoor lighting and you can make them quite easily with items you may already have lying around the house. Making lanterns is also an activity that kids can get involved in, so you can make it a family afternoon craft session and then enjoy the results all summer long. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Coffee cans
- Table clamp
- Hammer
- Nails, various sizes
- Screw drivers, various sizes
- Wire
- Wire cutters
- Needle-nose pliers
- Votive candles
- Long matches/lighter
- Measuring tape
- Mason jars
Instructions
-
Coffee Can Lanterns
-
1
Clamp the coffee can on its side to the work table, using the can opening to attach the clamp.
-
2
Puncture the can's sides with various different sized nails and screwdrivers, hammering gently with the hammer, to create a design and let light through the can. Move the can position as necessary to make the design all the way around the can.
-
-
3
Puncture two holes on opposite sides of the top of the can. Cut a 12-inch length of wire with wire cutters and bend it into a "U" shape. Insert either end of the "U" into the opposing holes and then twist the ends into a knot with the pliers to secure the "U" upside down to the coffee can for the lantern handle.
-
4
Sit the votive candle in the bottom of the coffee can lantern and light it with the long matches or lighter. Then hang the lantern from the handle in the desired location. Small pillar candles can substitute for votive candles if necessary.
Mason Jar Lanterns
-
5
Measure the diameter of the mason jars just below the lip of the top of the jar. Cut a length of wire to this length plus 5 inches.
-
6
Bend the wire around the top of the jar under the lip to get the shape but leave untwisted. Cut a second length of wire 12 inches long and bend it into a "U" shape.
-
7
Turn the "U" upside down and twist the ends around the wire circle, on opposite sides, for the handle of the jar lantern. Place the wire circle around the top of the mason jar again, under the lip, and twist the ends around each other to secure the wire and handles to the mason jar.
-
8
Place the votive candle in the bottom of the jar and light it with the long matches or lighter and position the lantern, hanging with the handle.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Keep lit lanterns out of reach of children.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
