Illuminate your yard with these simple outside lighting torches made from a soda bottle and a dowel.  Plus it’s an upcycle project which is a double bonus! They are quite classy looking in the yard at dusk or evening as you can see in the very bottom photos.

 

Supplies Needed for Outdoor Lighting

• 1 Skinny soda bottle.
• X-acto type knife.
• 1 36″ dowel (1/2 to 7/8″ in diameter)
• Glue Gun
• Goo Gone (Optional. To remove labels on bottle if needed.)
• Tea Lights or Battery Operation LED Tea Lights (Most Dollar Stores have them.)
• Washi Tape, or Paint for Decorating
• Iron: Optional for rounding edge of bottle.

Visual Tutorial

IRONING EDGE: You can use a normal iron to round the edge of your bottle.  It does not leave residue on the iron. With the iron on high, press the top of the bottle against the iron firmly for 5 to 10 seconds until it starts to curve the edge. This is optional but gives a nice finish. (NOTE: Do this at your own risk and please be careful!)

INSERTING INTO GROUND: These need to be inserted into softer ground. You can soak the spot a bit with water before pushing the dowel in. You can also slightly sharpen the bottom of your dowel if desired to make insertion easier.

HOLDING TEA LIGHT IN PLACE: If your bottle is completely flat on the bottom inside you don’t need to put the dab of glue on the bottom of the tea light. Mine was raised a little so I needed it to hold the light in the center.

Remove label and use Goo Gone to remove any residue quickly. Works great!

Visual directions.

 

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