Tin Can Lantern
Safety First! Please exercise caution when making any craft projects. Some of the items used may not be suitable for all children to operate.
The best cans for tea candles (short stuffy white ones) are the salmon and tuna cans. For other candles, peach cans, or anything kind of wide and not too tall works fine.
Do not peel the label off the cans! Leave it on so you can draw a design on it later. Wash inside of cans well with soap, and a brush, rinse with hot water and let dry on a warm stove top. Do not let your kids dry the inside, the top rim can be sharp.
Next, take an old metal spoon, and use the back of it to press flat any sharp burrs or other things on the inside top edge that might cut your fingers.
Fill the cans with cold water, about 3/4’s full and freeze overnight. Next day, take out one can per person, and let them draw a design on the label with a black marker. Then, punch your design with an awl or ice pick, and a hammer. Put the tin can on an old scrap of wood, not your kitchen table top! Accidents happen! Try setting the can on its side inside a bed made of a tea towel, so it won’t roll around.
Don’t make really big holes, the small ones look nicer. Make a star, heart, pine tree, or any other simple shape that pleases you. The frozen water inside the can keeps it from squashing in the middle once you start hammering in your holes. Simply let the ice thaw when you are done, peel off the label, and dry on a warm stove top. The drying stage is important to prevent rusting. You can spray paint the outside of the can with black, midnight blue, red, green white, any color to match your decor, or leave plain, or even use gold, silver or bronze paint, or do an antique copper/green finish.
Make sure you stick your candles down in the bottom by burning some wax into the bottom and setting the candle in it before it hardens, or use a large thumb tack hot glued, or super-glued onto the bottom. The candle can be pushed down onto the sharp thumb tack point, which will help keep it from tipping over. Use shorter candles that have already been burned a bit, or cut tapers down to the height of the top of the candle. You must make sure its safe to use as you are dealing with fire.
