How to Make a Tin Punch Tea Light Lantern

 This tea light lantern is made to accommodate interchangeable tin punch patterns.

Supplies and Equipment

• 4 pieces ½" x ½" x 2¾" MDF
• 1 piece 1/8" x 3½" x 3½" Baltic birch plywood
• 4 pieces 2½ x 2½" roof flashing
• Liquid wood adhesive
• FolkArt Rust Painted Finish
• Tin punch pattern
• Proxxon MICRO Press MP 120
• Proxxon MICRO Bandsaw MBS/E

Instructions

1. Transfer the tin punch pattern to the flashing blank. I use an electronic cutter to cut the pattern out of decal vinyl. You could also punch the paper pattern, and transfer marks for the holes onto the flashing with a permanent marker.
   
2. Mount to 7/64" punch in the MICRO Press. Note: These patterns are designed to use the 7/64" and 5/32" punches.
   
3. Punch the pattern.
   
4. Use the bandsaw to cut the kerf slots in the corner pillars. The depth of the kerfs is equal to the width of the bandsaw blade. Make cuts on two adjacent edges.
   
5. Dry fit the punched panels and corner pillars.
   
6. Glue the pillars onto the base.
   
7. Check the orientation of the kerf channels.
   
8. Paint the tea light lantern with FolkArt rust painted finish, or acrylic paint of your choice.
   
9. When the paint is dry, insert the punched panels.
   

Carole

Tea Light Holder

With Christmas just a few short weeks away, I'm beginning to think about holiday decorations. One of my favorite things is arranging beautiful table settings for our Christmas dinner. This year I created these tea light holders to grace each place setting.

For this project I used:

• 1/4" MDF
• Folk Art Shaker Red (#38907) Milk Paint
• Folk Art Milk Paint Finishing Oil
• Proxxon Scroll Saw DS 115/E

I began by printing the pattern and adhering it to the MDF using painter's tape and spray adhesive.  I covered the surface of the MDF with painter's tape. Next, I sprayed the back of the pattern with spray adhesive, and put that on top of the painter's tape. The spray adhesive holds the pattern in place, and the painter's tape makes removing it a breeze.

Next step was to cut out the two pieces using my Proxxon scroll saw.

It cut so smoothly no sanding was required, so I moved right on to painting each piece. So I could paint all the surfaces at one time, I pushed a heavy corsage pin into the notch on each piece. I used the pin to hold the piece while I was painting it, and I clamped the pins to suspend the pieces while they were drying.

After painting, I used soft cloth to gently buff on Folk Art Milk Paint Finishing Oil.

I'm looking forward to using these tea light holders to brighten my holiday table.

You can find the pattern for this tea light holder on the Scrollsaw Workshop website.

Carole