Many people enjoy making decorating accessories for their home, because it gives the space a completely personal feel. If you count yourself among the people who like to take on a project like this and are looking to make a light shade/lantern for your ceiling light, this task is certainly within your grasp. The lantern can be dressed up to accompany a more feminine room or pared down so that it fits in with the most ultra-modern decor.
Instructions
1. Peel the label off the can. You want a large restaurant-size can that vegetables came in. If there's still glue on the can where the label was stuck on, try using a little rubbing alcohol on it to remove the glue.
2. Take off both ends of the can with a can opener. Sand down the rough spots so the ends aren't so sharp.
3. Punch six holes in the top of the can in pairs of two an equal distance apart. This is where you're going to string the ribbon through later so that you can hang the lantern up.
4. Mark the pattern you want on the lantern lightly with a felt-tipped pen. Once you're done, begin punching holes into the can where you marked the dots with the pick and hammer. Make the design as simple or elaborate as you choose, but make sure that you have enough holes for adequate light to shine through -- the more the better. You can test this periodically by putting the can on the ground and shining a flashlight in the hole in the top of the can and turn off the lights. If you're getting a good amount of light from the holes, you have enough.
5. Cut the ribbon into pieces about 6 inches long and tie them to each one of the holes you punched into the can for this purpose (as opposed to the holes you made to let the light shine through). Once the ribbons are all attached to the can, tie them in pairs, which will make three pairs of ribbons tied together.
6. Measure the fabric so that it fits completely around the can with a little bit of extra so that you can glue it down. The fabric should be very sheer so that light will stream through it. Choose a fabric that goes with the rest of the decor in the room.
7. Glue the fabric onto the can. You don't want to have glue under all the fabric, just where the two ends meet. Make sure you fold down the end of the fabric that will be on the outside so that the edge looks nice. Allow the glue to dry according to the instructions on the bottle. It isn't absolutely necessary to add fabric if you're going for the industrial look; the can by itself will be enough of a shade.
8. Screw the hooks into the ceiling so that they are about 4 inches from the lightbulb.
9. Hang the lantern up by hooking the ribbons over the screw hooks.
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