Repurposed Vintage Cheese Graters Lantern

by Tuula - Color Me Thrifty

$2.00

45 Minutes

Easy

When I saw some vintage cheese graters at the thrift store I knew exactly what I was going to do with them, but I wasn't sure how I was going to do it.

repurposed vintage cheese graters lantern, gardening, lighting, outdoor living, repurposing upcycling

Until I was at the hardware store one day and I saw this lovely copper wire.

The only other thing I needed was some needle nose pliers..

To start I had to stabilize my graters so I wrapped the corners with thin strips of painters tape.

I cut the copper wire into 3 1/2" pieces to be trimmed as needed.

Then I joined the graters, one corner at a time, with the copper wire by wrapping it around..

and around...

and around three times... making sure it was tight enough to be secure, but not too tight.

Then I just used my pliers to press the ends in nice and snug underneath.

Here's the bottom done.

I found some chain in my stash to use for hangers, and I ran the copper wire through the bottom loop of the chain on the second time around.

Then I wrapped the copper wire around just like the bottom corners.

Here's one done.

This pewter hummingbird tealight holder from my stash fits perfectly in the bottom, fitting nice and snug on the bottom rungs of the graters, and I can pop it out easily if it ever needs to be cleaned of wax.

I added a few vintage glass chandelier crystals for some bling, and a pinkalicious candle to finish it off.

I love pink and silver together, but I pretty much love pink and anything together. lol.

And my vintage cheese grater lantern is done.

Here's a night shot.

No vintage cheese graters were harmed during the making of this project. lol.

The copper wire can easily be removed with pliers and the cheese graters will be free to grate once again... or be made into something else.

Thanks so much for reading, and please always exercise caution when dealing with lit candles. Never leave candles unattended.

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3 of 50 comments

Wanda Rushing French on Jul 16, 2015
You are a very smart girl! I will definitely be putting this one to use. Thank-you.

1 Reply
- Tuula - Color Me Thrifty on Jul 16, 2015
  @Wanda Rushing French That's wonderful Wanda! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I'm enjoying mine.
  
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Jewellmartin on Dec 03, 2018

My vintage cheese graters are not near as old as yours, but I believe I could find ways to use copper wire on them. The (flameless) candle may not give us much light, but maybe I can wire an old cosmetic case mirror to help. This idea is unexpected yet very attractive. ☺️

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