DIY Network

Soup-Can Luminaries Metal cans make great candleholders. From "Creative Juice" episode DCRJ-213L

With a few old soup cans, some nails and a little ingenuity, you can light the way home for all your buckaroos and buckarettes.

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Soup-Can Luminaries

Tools:

metal can
water
freezer
nails of various sizes
hammer
permanent marker
cotton gloves
candle
paper templates
tape
small hole punch

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

1. Soak the cans to remove labels and excess glue. Clean thoroughly.

2. You can use a permanent marker and draw a design directly on the can, or you can trace or draw designs onto paper to create templates. You can do any design, as long as you make sure it will fit on the can. For a Western theme, think of designs like a horseshoe, star, coyote, etc. Simple designs work best because the design will be punched into the can in a dot pattern.

3. Working on the paper template and using a small hole punch, punch around the outer edges of the design (figure A), trying to space the punches evenly. Tape the punched-paper template to the can. Transfer the design to the can by marking the holes with a permanent marker (figure B).

5. Once the pattern is drawn or transferred onto the can, fill with water and freeze overnight. The ice will prevent the can from collapsing when it is hammered.

6. Wearing cotton gloves and using a nail and hammer pierce the can at each marked dot (figure C). You can add to the design by using different-sized nails.

7. Allow the water to melt, and use fingernail-polish remover to clean up any marker marks. Add a candle.