Upcylers Challenge: Aluminium Lights

Materials Needs:

Scrap Aluminium Pipe or other leftover Metal Piping

Dremel

Lace

Spray Paint

So last month, I entered an Upcycling contest with my Upcycled Night Light Bottle, and was featured in the results here.  This month the challenge was to upcycle an old metal pipe.  I looked around the shop and house and found these three blocks of aluminium.

They are leftover from my husband’s boat trailer. He rebuilt the trailer at the beginning of the summer, and these were cut off the cross member to repair the trailer.   So, I got out the Dremel and removed the metal shavings and gave the edges a smooth finish.  Then I took out an old piece of lace.

I covered one side of the aluminium pipe with lace and sprayed it with black paint.

Be sure to lay the lace completely flat on the surface. You can use tape to secure it you would like.  When it dried, I removed the lace and repeated the step on all sides.

Add a votive candle and it makes a pretty decorative candle holder.

The aluminium also luminates the candle’s flame and really makes for a bright light.

Aluminium is a sustainable metal and great for the outdoors. It will eventually rust or corrode, but not red rust like iron, or blue-green rust like copper.  Aluminum oxidizes (rusts) extremely fast, and that oxidation is almost the same color of the aluminum. With a little care, like rinsing off salt water, etc. aluminium will protect itself.  That’s why I think these little candle lights will be great on my outdoor patio.  I plan on putting citronella candles in them to help keep the bugs away too!

We’ve been using lace prints on our wood too!

Look for our Corky Wednesdays post and another how-to before the end of the week!

Thanks, Bee