2020 Summer Home and Garden

Page 8 2020 Summer Home and Garden Lincoln Daily News June 11, 2020 For another nice touch, attach lights to the rafters. [See how to make the pergola] To add ambience and transform your outdoor spaces for summer, use yard lanterns for decoration. Though there are many yard lanterns available, to save money, Katie Bookser shows how easily lanterns light up your deck, patio or porch. One lantern is made using 26 pieces of balsa wood cut into 12-inch strips. Bookser marks a terra cotta pot base at one- inch intervals to place the strips of wood. She uses hot glue to attach them to the pot and puts a wood ring at the top. Decorative rope or cord strips add another nice touch. A decorative wire wrapped around the top provides a handle for the lantern. To light it up, put in an LED light. For the other lantern, Bookser wraps wire around the bottom of a glass then makes wire rings. To make it easier, craft stores have pre- made rings that can be used Hemp, rope or anything thin and easy to wrap, and the inner part of an embroidery hoop are used to connect the rings. The rings are glued to the hoop and rope wrapped around each ring. Bookser put enough rings around the hoop to completely cover it. Another layer of rings is attached to the first layer of rings by wrapping rope around them and gluing the end. At the top is another embroidery hoop attached to the rings with rope. The whole lantern is set on top of a terracotta dish and a jar, candle or light can be placed inside. These lanterns are great for decorating a space for entertaining and relaxing outside on summer evenings. [Step by step lantern instructions] Adding plants is a good way to complete your backyard decor. William Moss provides tips for dressing up a patio with flowers and foliage. Moss says multiples of the same size or various sized plant containers perk up a patio with color. Packing the containers tightly and grouping them by various sizes makes a nice focal point. CONTINUED u