DIY Lantern Candleholder

Before this lantern looked like this ....

It looked like this ...

Years ago I bought this old gas lantern and was thrilled that the glass globe was intact, as most of the lanterns I found no longer had them.  It is a Dietz lantern and I  believe was used in barns and by the railroads. 

I had no intentions of using it as originally intended and wasn't concerned with altering it with paint, so envisioned it freshly painted and displaying a flameless outdoor candle on our front porch.  First I cleaned the exterior metal lamp base with a brush and damp cloth.  Then, soaked the glass globe in hot soapy water. 

Next, the search for just the right shade of paint.  In keeping with my usual goal to use what we have on hand, I grabbed cans of Rustoleum Regal Red and Rustoleum Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze. 

Guessing that the Oil Rubbed Bronze would tone down the red a bit, resulting in a dark red, I mixed the two and got the dark red shade that I hoped for.

Using a small brush I went to work giving the lantern a fresh coat of metallic dark red paint.

Project should be all done ... just reinsert glass globe, slip in the candle and call it good!

Ugh ... not quite!  See that little round slotted protrusion in the center of the base?  That tiny object posed a slight detour to my plan to just slip the candle in.  The bottom of the candle would not rest flatly on the lantern base.

My solution was to cut a 1 inch wide piece from an empty paper towel cardboard center to form a flat pedestal on which to place the candle.  Problem solved!

To dress the candle up a bit and conceal the cardboard pedestal, I wrapped the candle in jute webbing with red detail.  Simply cut a strip of webbing, and use fabric fusing adhesive to create a sleeve to slip over the candle. 

Place the candle on the cardboard pedestal and slip the webbing down to meet the base of the lantern and conceal the cardboard pedestal.

All that's left to do is reinstall the glass globe, although I really like it best without it. 

A nice addition to our recently refreshed front porch!

Have you started a project that seemed effortless, then ran into an issue you had to resolve?  Seems to happen quite often.  I think that's part of the fun, don't you?

Shared with:

My Salvaged Treasures * Between Naps on the Porch
Mad in Crafts * Lou Lou Girls
Refresh Living * Imparting Grace * I Heart Naptime