Christmas in July craft coming your way!!!  Make this beautiful scroll Christmas tree lantern candleholder under $10.00!  It is perfect for this year’s Christmas decoration.

 

To get the look of a Christmas tree lantern I am going to use Dollar General’s plastic fencing!

If you are creative and crafty this is the craft for you.  I will give you step by step instructions on how you can make it.  BUT before I show you, I need to tell you about our monthly Creative Craft group.

Our group is led by Sara Birdz of a Feather and Donna Modern on Monticello, they both are the master minds for the monthly blog hop, they both do a fantastic job gathering up talented crafters to provide you inspiration.  This month there is 6 of us crafters sharing cute creative items at the bottom of my page, I will share each participant’s link to their page.

Now let’s get into making this lantern, want to?

I went into Dollar General to see what types of craft supplies they had for my creative craft share.  They didn’t have much on their craft shelves or home decor either, so I just walked around.  That’s when I spotted the plastic fencing, I thought, I could do something with it.

As I was looking at the designs of the scrolls, I thought about making something for Christmas since it is July the perfect month for sharing Christmas inspiration.

So, not knowing what I was going to do I bought all 8 pieces of the fencing.

Came home and searched online for ideas. I didn’t see anything that I loved but did notice this tree lantern, which made the lightbulb go on in my head!

I decided to make a Christmas tree lantern.  This should be crafty and creative, right?  Let’s see how it goes.

Christmas Tree Lantern Candleholder

First step: Cut your pieces.

The fencing is very thin so you can use a metal pair of scissors and snips.  I used both.

Start by using snips on the thicker plastic to cut the scrolls apart.  If you cut it just right, it cracks with one snip.

I used the scissors to cut the scrolls from the outer frame; it was very thin.

One fencing gives you a large front and back scroll and two smaller front and back scrolls.

You will have three piles.  Large scroll with two direction scrolls, a small scroll with two directions and another pile with the smaller scrolls.  If this makes sense.

I did the same thing to the other 5 fencings.

Second step:  Cut your scrolls to size.

To create a tree shape with the scrolls we need to cut a couple of them.  Take the larger “S” snip off the little curl at the two detail lines.  We will be using the larger part for the tree.  Discard the small part.

Do this to all of the larger scrolls.

Next, take one of the smaller scrolls and cut the same way as the larger scroll.

You should have a pile of large and small cut scrolls and a pile of one full scroll.

Third Step:  Glue the scrolls.

The scrolls are one sided, in order for the scrolls to look complete we need to glue the scrolls together.  First trim off any rough or jagged ends.

Take a front and back piece glue the two together with hot glue.

Do this to all of your scrolls.

Fourth Step:  Fill in the cracks.

To make the scrolls look nicer, I used spackle and filled in the cracks.

Do this step to all of your scrolls.

Don’t fill in the holes with the spackle.

To fill in the holes, I used caulk.  It stays better in place than the spackle.

Let the spackle and caulk thoroughly dry.  Once dry clean all the scrolls with a damp cloth.

Fifth Step:  Create the top and bottom of your lantern.

I had two different lanterns in my craft stash.  I decided to use one for the top and one for the bottom.

For the bottom I used the square lantern.  I cut the top off to use for the bottom.

To give it a more decorative look I added some air-dry clay to form a spindle.

For the top, I cut the top of the ornate lantern with my snips.

I was very careful not to crack the very top.

Sixth Step:  Assemble the lantern.

I took the top part of the ornate lantern and the 6 full scrolls to create the very top of the lantern.

I placed the top upside down in a glass.

To each point I glued the top of the tighter end scroll facing inside to the lantern’s top.  Gluing one by one until the glue cooled enough to hold the piece on.

Let the glue totally cool.

Now to work on the bottom part of the lantern.  I placed a good amount of hot glue in one corner of the base.

With the small half scroll I placed the cut end into the glue, making sure the curl was facing down.  Holding it in place until the glue cooled.

Glued the rest into the base making sure I spaced them equally apart.

Each addition check to make sure the top scrolls were even with the bottom scrolls.

I added hot glue to the center of the base to fill it in.

Once the hot glue had time to cool on the bottom lantern, I glued a metal candle lid, I had on hand, to the top of the bottom scrolls.

Taking the larger cut scrolls and gluing the cut end on the lip of the candle lid where the smaller scrolls are glued.

First, I snipped a slit to each side of my scroll, this will allow the piece to slip onto the lip of the lid.

Applied a good amount of glue to the lid and attached the scroll, holding it until the glue cooled.

I did this to all 6 of the pieces.

Let that completely cool.  Then I glued the top onto the bottom portion.

I wrapped twine around a few times to each middle and top scroll to keep it in place.  Plus it looks like the detailing that’s on the scrolls.

Last step:  Paint the lantern.

This part is for you decide what color you want your lantern.  Actually, it doesn’t have to be a Christmas tree it looks pretty as a lantern.

I painted mine with Admiral Blue spray paint for the base coat.

Second coat will be the main color, green.

To give it texture I added baking soda to Forest Green by Apple Barrel.

I placed it upside down in a jar to get the underneath part of the lantern first.  Once dry I turned it right side up and finished painting.

Now add embellishments.  I added Christmas greenery, berries, pinecones, a candle and a ribbon.

 

I hope I inspired you to think outside of the box when it comes to crafting.  This lantern will make a pretty conversational piece this Christmas season.  Thanks for coming by!

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Make sure you check the other Creative Crafter’s craft share, I have them all listed below for you.

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