As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been working in the garden for the last few weeks. The main effort has been to address 20 years of neglect and get the rest of the garden to match the clean lines of a new patio. As a result, several things had to go to the tip along with oodles of green waste and clippings. Three rusted IKEA tea light metal framed lanterns were consigned for metal recycling, but I took the opportunity to deglaze them before that happened. A bit of designing later and the upcycled glass lantern was born. Available in both beech and walnut veneer finishes.

Making notes

They are three-walled – external 4mm veneered MDF, a 3mm MDF panel with the glass panel inserted and then a 3mm poplar plywood interior. I used the Box-o-matic iPad app to create the outside box, editing the edges so that they mirrored one another rather than being the opposite check pattern. The base cutout is formed from a rounded rectangle. There is a top plate to hide the edges of the three walls, and a bottom plate with my logo on to do the same at the base. Finally, I cut a circle from the top plate cutout and stuck it in the bottom of the lantern to help stop the tea light from moving around.

I haven’t flame tested them fully, and forgot to use flame proofer before assembling them. But I don’t think them to be a fire risk if used with a real tea light. Of course, they suit a battery tea light admirably.

I was pleased my 2D planning came together, with only one minor hiccup – I forgot to change the box thickness from 3mm to 4mm and had to recut the first one. They are relatively materials-rich with three layers and will retail at £10 when I take them to craft fairs at the end of the year. Not quite IKEA prices, but that’s the cost of handcrafted over mass-produced 🙂