Light up your front porch or add an extra light fixture in a room with this Reverse Canvas Lantern – made from Dollar Store craft supplies!

How to make a reverse canvas lantern.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Why I love this craft

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of reverse canvas crafts, so this craft was a must try. I absolutely love how it turned out and think it’s perfect for adding additional light to indoor or outdoor areas. Not to mention, it’s incredibly easy and cost-efficient to make. You can make several of them for pennies on the dollar!

Do you reuse the canvas?

Some of my reverse canvas projects use the canvas once it’s removed, but if not I recommend keeping it in your craft stash. Canvas pieces can always be used in other crafts and don’t take up a lot of space to hold on to.

The inspiration for this craft:

This is not the first time I’ve made a reverse canvas craft that lights up. I also enjoy making lanterns. This craft project combines the best of those into something that’s super easy and cute to make.

Video Tutorial: Reverse Canvas Lantern

Watch this quick video to see how this craft came together:

Reverse Canvas Lantern

Yield: 1 lantern

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Use stretched canvases and a plastic cutting mat to make a cute lantern to decorate for fall and winter.

Materials

(4) 4x6 mini canvases (Dollar Tree)
Waverly antique gel stain
cutting mat (Dollar Tree)

Tools

pen blade or razor blade
1" flat paint brush
Sharpie marker
heavy duty craft scissors

Instructions

Watch tutorial video. Watch the video for a step-by-step walkthrough for creating your own reverse canvas lantern.
Remove canvas. I used a pen blade to easily remove the canvas backing from the frame.
Stain the frames. Use a flat paint brush and stain each frame on all sides. Use a paper towel to wipe away any excess stain.
Trace frames. Lay the frame on a cutting mat sheet and trace with the Sharpie. Once traced, cut about a quarter inch inside of the marker lines.
Apply cutting mat cutout. Apply a generous amount of hot glue onto the back of the frame and place the cutting mat cutout onto it, smoothing it in the process. Repeat this step for all of the frames.
Assemble the lantern. Hot glue the frames together to create a square shape. (Watch video to see how I do this step.)
Embellish lantern. I set my lantern on top of a small greenery wreath and used battery powered lights for the candle. You can use a battery powered candle or tealight.