I am always excited when I find a fun craft idea to make with recyclables. These soda can lanterns are a little bit amazing! I think they would be so fun strung together in a garland and hung outside for a backyard barbecue. They kind of remind me of some of the kitschy yet fun soda can art I have seen when camping in RV parks. There’s a secret to cutting the cans, so check the original article by Teresa Wong at TheStar Online. [how to make soda can lanterns]
You can get most of the stuff you need for this project at the dollar store, including the box cutter/razor blade. You might find some nice colorful soda cans at the dollar store, or raid the closest recycling bin you can find. If you don’t have colorful cans to work with, hit them with some spray paint before you begin. You can use battery-operated tealights instead of real candles to help cut down on the risk factor. The last battery-operated tealight we used lasted for DAYS… it was turned on constantly in my son’s room, and it lasted at least 72 hours of light time. And, it’s still working.
Project estimate:
- Aluminium soda cans, on hand
- Wire, on hand or $1
- Cutter and small pliers, on hand or $1 each
- Screwdriver, on hand
- Tealights, on hand or $1
Total: FREE and up
18 Comments
Lisa
I’ve seen these before! If you pop them out at an angle, they spin in the wind.
Janice
Bad idea. I am sorry, but all I can think of with this project is sliced up fingers. The metal can edges are sharp as a blade.
heather
@Janice, thanks for your feedback. You definitely need to use care & caution when making these.
Brompting
May be you could benefit from my expirience. Actually I should post this on the “How to” page, but I cannot leave a comment there.
You can prevent the can from bursting if you fill the can NOT to the brim. Leave about 1/4 of an inch for air. When the water turns into ice it can expand.
Good luck to you all.
RIkelle
Love these thanks for sharing!. The aluminum is surprisingly not that sharp
Adela
Love them !
Definitely they are not for kids under 10 and for adults who have 2 left hands!
3y3va
I love this idea! I’m going to make some. should call them hillbilly lanterns :D
kyle
i like bacon
debra
I want to use white Christmas tree lights to insert…..the spray can still be used to spray the outside or is their a better paint to use to paint the cans?
heather
@debra, I think spray paint is a good choice.
Samantha
I am planning on making my mom some of these out of her favorite beer cans for mother’s day. I was thinking about making them for lights outside her patio, but I know that the soda cans will be extremely light and might blow away. Any suggestions for how to weigh these down?