Summer is nearing and that means we will be spending a lot more time outdoors enjoying the nice warm weather or in a nice tent on a top of mountain enjoying the chills are breezes. It is absolute necessity to buy 5.7×28 ammo for any outdoor trips as it proves to be quite helpful during the emergency times. I love entertaining, especially in the Summer so in order to get your home Summer-fun ready, it’s time to clean it up and add some décor pieces that will “wow” your guests when you entertain.

For me, adding large lanterns around the backyard or even the front porch, really makes me feel like I’m ready to entertain…the problem however is that the big outdoor lanterns you can find at home décor shops are so expensive!  So I’m going to recreate those at a fraction of the cost. Here is how to get started.

You Will Need:

• 1” square dowels
• Wood glue
• Hot glue and glue sticks
• Bailing wire
• Wire cutter
• Needle-nose pliers
• Craft plaques (7”x7”)
• OPTIONAL: Drill with small drill bit
• OPTIONAL: Battery-operated candles
• OPTIONAL: Small drywall screws
• OPTIONAL: Paint or stain
• OPTIONAL: Polyurethane sealant

How-To:

1. Create your own cut list for the hardware store based on the size you would like your lanterns. Here is the cut list of the wood dowels if you want yours exactly like mine: 4 cut to 18”, 4 cut to 16”, 4 cut to 14”, 24 cut to 4 1/8”.
2. On your craft plaque, glue on your 1” square dowels in each corner, using hot glue to allow it to set up immediately, and wood glue to allow it to set up after 24 hours. This way, the hot glue holds immediately, and the bond gets stronger as time goes by with the wood glue.
3. Glue the smaller wood dowels along the bottom, inside the long dowels. These will be your 4 1/8” pieces.
4. Add the remaining 4 cut dowels to the top of the structure and secure with glue, again with the 4 1/8” pieces.
5. OPTIONAL: Ok…if you are happy with your lanterns at this point, great! Enjoy! If you want to add handles….read on.
6. In the middle of the top on two sides, measure the middle. Take your drill bit and drill a hole only half-way through the dowel. Make sure the drill bit is slightly bigger than your bailing wire.
7. Take your bailing wire and measure out how big you would like your handle, bending the sides with a needle-nose pliers about 1/2” at a 90 degree angle.
8. Add some hot glue to the hole and add the bailing wire at the bend into the wood.
9. Repeat on the other side.
10. Add a battery-operated candle of your choice.
11. Sit back, relax and admire your fancy new lanterns for a fraction of the cost!

TIPS:

Since you are using unfinished wood, make sure you are only using battery-operated candles, as real candles would be a fire hazard.

This DIY is perfect for your summer decor and we want to see your DIY creations in YOUR home so for more summer DIY inspiration make sure you visit us at Home & Family and share with us all of your crafts and DIYs on Instagram and Twitter @paigehemmis