Western General Store

  Candle lanterns are so popular and there are endless ways to decorate them. So, I thought, why not make one? Instead of the posts being square with the base, I decided to angle them 45 degrees. I went with the wood I had. The barn wood posts are 8 1/2" tall x 1" x 5/8". The cypress base is 6 9/16" x 5 5/8" x 3/4". The top piece consists of 2 pieces that are 3 11/16" x 1" x 3/4" and 2 pieces that are 6 9/16" x 1" x 3/4". After assembly, The Candle Lantern will be 10" tall. To make the top piece, I arranged the pieces on top of the base to keep them square. Glue, clamp and let dry overnight. A board was clamped to the table saw fence. Each post was glued on one end, placed on the base and against the 'fence board' and nailed. Blue tape was placed on each corner of the base to show exactly where each post should be placed on a diagonal. Glue was applied to the other end of each post and top piece was nailed on. I u...

I love stars! There are so many ways to use them in home décor. So you will probably see a lot of them around here. I used the star from a previous post to make a tray. Place the star on 1/4" plywood, trace around it and cut it out on the band saw. You could use a jig saw also. Paint the star with Mod Podge and place a flag bandana or any fabric on it. I got this bandana at Joann's. Smooth it out a bit with your fingers then use a wood brayer working from the center. Trim off the excess material and attach to back of the star with a brad gun, nails, screws or glue. There you have it! A star tray or hang it on the wall. You could paint the wood star red, white and blue and use it on the 4th of July!