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For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb
Psalm 139:13

Monday 18 November 2013

DIY lace lanterns


Hey, crafty ones!

Thought I'd share a super-simple project with you that I devised for the wedding but have been loving lately - little lace lanterns! Back in September I spruced up a load of old jam jars for the tea lights at our wedding reception. Since we then had a load of them around the flat, I've popped some in the fireplace and the rest around the bathtub. I'll tell you what, other than bubble bath and a glass of something pink, nothing makes bath time feel fancier than one or two of these babies. I thought they also might make sweet gifts or awesome Christmas centrepieces, with festive ribbon or raffia.  

Yup, definitely candles in there.

So here's how to. You'll need a load of clean glass jars, some tealight candles, some wire (I used gardening wire), pliers to bend and cut said wire, PVA glue, lace, scissors and a selection of ribbon. 

1. Get snipping! Carefully cut out individual motifs from the lace, enough to arrange and fit around the main part of each of the jars. The lace I used had lots of huge flower sections, so I cut those out and layered up the smaller bits. 


2. Mix some PVA glue in a cup with water - I used a mix of roughly half and half. With a paintbrush, coat a jar with the glue mixture. Arrange some of the motifs around the jar until you're happy with the placement. Carefully paint a coat of the glue mixture over the top to seal the lace.  

3. Repeat the process for each of the jars. Place them upside down on some newspaper overnight to try. 

4. Wire and pliers at the ready. For each jar, cut a length of wire and wind it twice around the top of the jar. In the second wind, twist a part of the wire on each side to create two loops. These are for attaching the handles. Twist the two loose ends of the wire together tightly and fold or trim away any sharp edges. 

4. For each jar, take a second piece of wire roughly the same length as the last to make your handle. Create a heart shape in the middle of the wire and twist it. Loop both ends through the two loops of either side of the jar and fasten. 

6. Decorate your jars with ribbon, beads, glitter, whatever floats your boat.

Pop the tealight candles in and you're done!

They look all pretty and glowy in the dark.





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