Hot Wheels Lantern
You would never guess that this lantern is made from some Hot Wheel tracks that I grabbed at the Dollar Tree!
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To begin my project, I picked up a bamboo vanity tray that I found at the Dollar Tree.
I also grabbed some Hot Wheel tracks while I was there. I am going to be using just the track part so discarded the blue connector pieces that are at the top with the packaging.
The tracks are different on each side. There is a thinner ridge on one side and then there is a thicker ridge on the other side. I used the side that has more room in between as the side that is facing out.
To attach the tracks to the bamboo base, I placed one end in the corner of the tray and then curved it around until the other end was in the opposite corner.
I used a generous amount of hot glue in the corner of the tray to keep the track in place.
Make sure to hold these in place until the glue firmly sets.
If you need to, add more hot glue so that the track pieces don’t move.
Then, I took the other track and placed it in the other corners going over the top of the first track that I placed.
I used the hot glue again, adding a generous amount so that these tracks stay in place once the glue sets.
Next, I grabbed a bunch of half-round wood beads.
I added a dab of hot glue to the flat sides and stuck them to the outside of the plastic track starting at the bottom of each one.
After getting about halfway up the track, I stopped and added a wood round to the top. I didn’t want to go too far up with the beads until I added the top.
I glued the wood round on top with some hot glue and added a large wooden bead with a flat bottom. These added a nice decorative finish to the top.
Once those were in place, I continued adding the beads on each track until I got underneath the wood top.
Before spray painting my piece, I made sure to remove any of the glue hairs so they didn't get stuck in the spray paint.
I used a coat of Zinzer primer first before painting the piece.
With the primer dry, I added a coat of enamel satin spray paint.
After it had dried sufficiently, I used some black patio paint from Deco Art and added a little rustic finish on the sides and edges of my Lantern. This added a little rustic definition to my Lantern so it wasn't so flat.
To finish my lantern off, I added a little wreath in the bottom and a candle. I don't plan on lighting this candle because of the plastic and will just use it for decorative purposes. If you want to add a candle that gives off some light you can use a battery-operated candle. I'm really happy with how this piece turned out. You would never believe that some plastic Hot Wheel tracks from the Dollar Store could make such a cute little farmhouse Lantern.
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Very Creative 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 I Love It
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I would not try this for using a real candle...seems like a pretty elaborate fire starter...but could work well with a battery operated candle
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She said she wasn’t going to light the candle, and that if you wanted a lit candle look to use a flameless candle.
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I don’t understand the cost of this. The links in this show a bamboo tray for around $15, and the tracks, for the different lengths needed, around $18. Are these items not at the Dollar Store as stated? Just wondering as it is cute.
You go girl! Great idea!
Yes it came out very nice ? why did she not mention that she got the idea from She's So CraftyDee one of the YouTube Artists maybe about a year or so maybe less just a ? that i was wondering about