Add a touch of rustic charm to your home with this Rustic Fall Lantern without breaking the bank. This easy fall DIY idea only takes 15 minutes to make and costs under $10! All of the supplies for this project can be found at Dollar Tree.

Total Cost: $6
Difficulty Level: Easy
Time: 10 minutes

Below are the detailed instructions and supply list for how to build the lantern using Dollar Tree picture frames. After you build the frame for the lantern, there are ideas further down on how to decorate it. You can add flowers, pinecones, faux pumpkins, berry garlands, etc. Or you can make a fall scene.

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Dollar Store Rustic Fall Lantern

how to build a fall lantern using Dollar Tree supplies

Total Time30 mins

Yield: lantern

Cost: $6

Equipment

glue gun and one glue stick
pair of scissors
pencil

Materials

4 wood design plastic picture frames
1 foam board
wood design contact paper

Instructions

Remove the plastic, frame back and picture inserts from the picture frames.
Put the tabs back down to hold the glass in place.
Glue the corners of the picture frames together. Be sure to align it evenly. Hold together firmly until each frame dries (about a minute). Be generous with the glue because you want it to hold up well. Also, I glue the inside of the corners to make sure it holds.
Using a pencil, trace the outline of the lantern onto the foam board.
Cut out the outlined section of the foam board.
Trace the outline of the foam board onto the back of the contact paper with the pencil. Add an extra 1/2 inch to the top and side to cover the sides of the foam board.
Make two cut outs of the contact paper using the first one as a guide for the second one.
Cover the front and back of the foam board with the contact paper. Be sure to cover the sides as well.
Glue the foam board base to the bottom of the lantern.

After your lantern is build, you are ready to decorate the inside of your rustic fall lantern. This is the fun part where you can get creative with it. I decorated the inside of the lantern a few different ways to give you some ideas for inspiration.

Sunflower Rustic Fall Lantern

Supplies:

large sunflower
mini pumpkins
fall leaf branches
large pinecone

Cost: $3

You can get all these items at Dollar Tree except the pinecone. Layer the lantern with the big things on the bottom and the lighter things above and place a few branches of fall leaves around everything. You could use mini faux gourds, fall berry garlands, acorns or LED pillar candles too. To save even more money, you could use real fall items that you find in your backyard too.