Make a Lantern From a Vintage Light Cage

When I'm out garage saling or thrifting, I come across all kinds of weird and wonderful things. Sometimes I snatch them up without having any idea what I'm going to do with them. That was the case one day when I bought a box filled with all kinds of rusty goodness, including a vintage light cage. You know, the kind that protect a light bulb that you would hang from the open hood of your car so you could see what you're working on in there.

I didn't need it for its intended purpose, but it didn't take long for me to come up with an alternative use. I decided it would make an amazing lantern.

This is the cage in its "as found" condition. Pretty cruddy, right?

After giving it a good clean with soap and water, followed by a good scrub with a wire brush and some mineral oil, I cut a small disc out of a foil tray to serve as the "bottom" of the lantern, for the tea light to sit on. Boom! My lantern was complete. Check out my original blog post for more photos and helpful details.

Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/9850862/make-a-lantern-from-a-vintage-light-cage site