Upcycled Copper Lanterns

Spring is here and that means refreshing our outdoor spaces.

I don't know about you, but I do not like spending a lot of money out outdoor décor because I do not have a covered porch and the sun, wind, and rain tend to ruin everything.

As I was cleaning out my garage to go through all of my outdoor items I saw these two copper lanterns that I had shoved to the back of a shelf and forgotten all about.

I remember buying them at a thrift store and they were on dirt cheap Christmas clearance after the holidays. They were $1.98 each! I thought I would paint them or perhaps clean them up and use them in my Christmas décor and I never got around to working with them, so when I rediscovered them on the back of my shelf in the garage, I did the happy dance.

Now, these lanterns are not pretty as they are with that metal ribbon do-hickey attached to them so I decided to try to remove this piece without damaging the lanterns.

To my surprise the ugly metal ribbon do-hickey just popped right off! How many times does THAT happen? ....its NEVER that easy! LOL

See. I told you. Just popped right off with no damage to the lantern. Yay!

Now I have two copper lanterns that are in perfect shape that I plan on using in my yard.

I have a lush area of my yard that is mostly shaded and I wanted to add walk way lights or some sort of yard art to jazz up the space and decided these copper lanterns were perfect for this space. 

I wiped them down, popped in a tea light,  and we were in business.

Now I can't wait until my Endless Summer Hydrangea behind the lantern blooms.

This was the easiest up-cycle I think I have ever done and you would never know they used to be Christmas décor!

Here is the before and after:

So as you walk through the thrift store don't pass up the holiday section because you never know what you will find!

Jennifer


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