My attempt at ice lanterns

I suck at DIY projects. I can mess up even the easiest of things no matter how carefully I follow the instructions. That's why I gave up on them years ago. But last week I came across these beautiful ice lanterns and I thought to myself that there is no harm in trying these. I mean it's just freezing water and then putting a candle inside it. Boy, was I wrong. Patience is not my strongest suit so I took one of the lanterns out before it was ready and it broke (ofcourse). So I decided to sleep on it and it was not the best night's sleep I have had. But I managed to keep my hands off them till they were ready to be taken out. So, I took two days to make four of these and I am sort of proud of myself. Yes. I am that easy to please. Don't judge me, OK?

Before I begin I must warn you that I take really bad photos.These do not, I repeat, DO NOT, look like these in reality. Just a 1000 times better and so cute. But I froze my butt off in -18 so you please be kind to me! So, now you have been warned so proceed with caution.

First decide what size of lantern you want. I would suggest not to go too big or too small. Just choose a medium size container as it will be easier to handle. Oh before you choose a container make sure you live in a country that is experiencing freezing temperatures. By freezing I mean below 15°C.
So now I have really narrowed down my audience (if I had any before) but let's move past this ok?

So fill the containers with cold water and place them outside, and wait patiently. 12-18 hours depending on the weather.










Once these are frozen pour some warm water on the moulds to release the ice. Break the ice on one end and make a cavity. you can pour some warm water inside too if you want it deeper.





Once you have it like you want, just put a tealight or any kind of candle inside it and put it ouside in the snow. And then you can enjoy the light show outside.












Have a cup of coffee and enjoy your lights.

If you are feeling really creative, go watch this video. Video is in Norwegian but you will get the basic idea. 

P.S. I forgot to mention that you can add food colouring to the water. Powdered colour works better than liquid food colouring. 

Here have a cookie for reading this.