We have some outdoor lanterns, and they’ve seen better days. Not only that, but lighting them at night is a pain in the butt because any candles kept inside the lanterns melt in the heat of the day and are useless. I suppose I could place candles in the lanterns only when I plan to light them, but then I’d have to store those candles the rest of the danged time and that would mean moving something around to make space and… No. I could also use fake, battery-operated candles, but that’s not really my jam. After having all these thoughts, I decided to make a different plan. And so I did.

 

First, let me tell you the white lanterns used to be orange, but they faded in the unrelenting SoCal sun. So I painted them white. Other than getting dirty (real dirty), they’re holding up pretty well.

 

 

So back to the project at hand. I decided I wanted outdoor lights wrapped around white wood, and all of that inserted into the lanterns. I found the lights online and placed my order. That was the easy part. Then I took measurements for each lantern’s base and the maximum height of the branches. The finished pieces would need to fill the space, but they would also need to fit through the lanterns’ danged doors. With all that in mind, I cut wood for bases and branches for, well, branches. I sanded the wood bases and the branch bottoms. Once those bits were accomplished, I gathered all the necessary items and really set to work.

 

 

I placed screws into the bottom of each branch base, according to where the corresponding branch would be attached. Some branches fit perfectly in the middle of the base. Others needed to be attached more to the side. I paid attention to that for each figure and I’m glad I did, because it would have been a bummer if the finished pieces hadn’t fit in the lanterns.

 

 

Once each branch was screwed to its base…

 

 

I spread a little outdoor-grade caulk around the joints.

 

 

I know these things will live outside and will therefore decompose over time. But I’d like them to last a while. It was with that thought in mind that I chose to apply the caulk.

 

 

Anyhoo – once the branches were attached to the bases, I spray-painted all the inserts. Already, they looked sweet. And then I waited for my lights to arrive. Which they did.

 

 

And after I’d wrapped the strands around each branch, I placed the inserts in the lanterns – which I had roughly cleaned with a damp rag – and here’s the result…

 

 

Pretty fab-o, right? Other than the cost of the spray paint and the battery-operated lights, I didn’t have to spend anything because I was able to use materials I had on hand (spare wood, batteries, branches from the yard). That’s kind of my favorite type of project, if you must know.

 

One last thing… When I told a friend I was about to start this outdoor art project, she said something about having a party after, to show them off. Honestly – it never occurred to me to do this because of having people over. I mean, that’s great and all, but that thought didn’t play a role in my thinking. No – I wanted to make the outside pretty for us. I wanted us to enjoy looking at the lanterns at night. So I take back what I said earlier about my favorite type of project. My true fave projects are the ones done just for us. This is definitely a winner.

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