Can Lanterns

Sorry this post is a day late! I lost track of days of the week...eek. One of the christmas gifts I gave Lilly was a craft that I had been wanting to try for a while, that I kept seeing on sites when looking for crafts to do with my summer campers. Making an empty can into a little lantern candle holder. So when I finally tried it, I decided to put a heart on it, since it's a pretty simple shape that I figured I could handle. They really are quite easy to make and look charming once they're done.

The only other things beside an empty can you need are a hammer and nail, and either a towel or vice grip. When I did this at my parents house I used my dad's vice grip and that was way easier than without it. At the apartment I simply sat with it in my lap on a towel. It was still pretty easy, but not quite as easy as it was at home. 

The trick to the whole thing is freezing water in it. Everyone in my family asks why this is necessary, but it's fairly simple, having the ice makes it so that you don't dent (or potentially crush) the can as you're punching holes in it, and it's also way easier to get the nail through when there's something on the other side to hit against. It makes a huge difference.

I highly recommend if you make one of these to use a grill lighter or something else with a long reach to light the candle in it. This is because the best candle to use would be a tea light, so that the bottom portion of whatever you punch in the can gets lit up. And it's pretty tricky to light the candle and get it in the bottom of the can successfully with a normal lighter or match. 

I made a second one, which I'll put up on Etsy. See you next tuesday guys!