Image: Family Circle
If you check out the isles of Home Depot or any other home improvement store you may come across these decorative aluminum sheets in the building department. The pretty patterns make a wonderful candle lanterns by just using wire, scissors or tin snips and a little paint. It's really easy to create these and you can paint them or leave them as is if you want...
Materials Required...
- Decorative aluminum sheets
- Tin snips, scissors (to cut metal)
- Ruler or tape measure
- 20-gauge wire, cut into 6-inch lengths
- Emery cloth (sandpaper for metal)
- Krylon black primer (optional)
Step 1: Cut sheeting to desired size strips using tin snips. Use household containers like cylindrical oatmeal boxes and soup cans to figure out the dimensions you want. A 10 x 17-inch piece makes a large lantern; a 4 x 10-inch strip a votive size. Lightly sand any rough edges with emery cloth.
Step 2: Roll the metal strip into a cylinder, using food containers as a mold and overlapping the cut ends slightly. To secure, twist wire through openings in the mesh evenly spaced at the top, bottom and middle along the seam. Depending on size, each lantern will require from two to six pieces of wire. Turn edges of wire to inside of lamp and trim any excess.
Step 3: To finish, spray surface with two coats of black primer, letting it dry in between applications. Or spray primer followed by a coat or two of spray paint in the color of your choice.
