A quick outdoor decoration that costs nothing and you get to quench your thirst while making it. Make a whole string of them for your next barbecue.
Approximate Time: 30 minutes
Supplies:
- aluminum soda cans
- sheet of card stock
- pencil with eraser
- push pin
- craft knife
- tea light
- fine point marker
- paper punch
Instructions:
- Print out the pattern page and cut both from your heavy paper such as card stock. If you are making your own strip it should be 8 x 1 1/4 inch wide with 12 evenly marked notches along the long edge.
- Tape the long strip into a ring overlapping, it should fit snugly around a can. Now place the ring on a flat surface notched side up, slip a can in the ring. The notches are at the correct height for you.
- Use your push pin and punch a hole at each notch.
- Turn your can over and repeat marking the notches making sure that the notches line up directly one under the one above.
- Now take the other pattern piece; lay the curved edge so it connects a dot on the top circle to the one below and over one. Do not connect with the one directly below. This is what makes the swirl effect. With a fine point marker draw along this edge for all 12 lines.
- With your cutter start at one hole and push your cutter in very carefully. This is a little tricky at first, but once you do one line you will get the feel of how much pressure you can use. I found the best method was to push in and put slight pressure down at the same time cutting just the width of the cutter at a time. Don't try to go to fast or you will go off the line at first.
- When you have all 12 slits made sit your can on a table; slightly put downward pressure on the top of the can, be careful it will be very easy to squash.
- While holding it down part way insert your pencil, eraser first, between two of the ribs and put a bend outward in the bottom and top of each rib at the point where the slit starts. Round out the ribs in a lantern shape with the pencil or your fingers, being careful the ribs are sharp.
- You can paint your lantern if you want to cover the can.
Slip a tea light in-between two ribs and hang your lantern by the tab. Make a string of these lanterns and slip each one on a bulb of a string of Christmas lights.
By Ann Winberg from Loup City, NE
