Chinese New Year Lantern Stand

Step 1
Start by cutting your upright posts to length – Fleur’s are 1.8m long. Fleur made her posts by gluing and screwing two 68mm x 34mm together to form a square post. Cut the three horizontal bars to length – Fleur’s are 26cm long. Prime all the wood with a coat of Resene Quick Dry.

Step 2
Measure your lanterns and work out how far apart you want your horizontal bars to be so that the lanterns can fit between them. Fleur’s bars are 32cm apart. Attach these bars between the two posts and secure with a couple of screws. Countersink your screws so that you will get a smooth finish at the end.

Step 3
Cut your header boards to length – Fleur’s are 60cm long. Use a plate to trace a curve at each end and cut this out with a jig saw. Prime the header boards with some more Resene Quick Dry and once this has dried, glue and screw the boards in place at the top of the stand.

Step 4
The last bit of construction is to cut the top bars to length. Fleur’s are 27cm long with a 50 degree cut on each end. Measure these out equally across the top of the header and screw in place.

Step 5
Fill all the screw holes with wood filler. Once all the wood filler is dry, sand it smooth and wipe off the sanding dust. Paint over the filler with more Resene Quick Dry. Finish the lantern stand by painting it with two coats of Resene Bullseye, allowing dry time between coats.

Step 6
Screw in a small cup hook to the underside of each of the three horizontal bars and hang the lanterns up.

Step 7
Dig two holes in your garden about 60cm deep, place the lantern stand in the holes (use a level to make sure it stands straight) and stamp the dirt back in around the posts firmly.

Top tip:
For a higher sheen finish, use Resene Enamacryl gloss waterborne enamel in place of Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel.