Lantern Making

Small inexpensive warm LED lights from the dollar store; 20 lights on a strand with a six hour timer.

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Finished lantern with lights. I use battery operated warm LED lights. You can glue the battery pack onto a stick to make it easier to reach to turn on, and to allow the lights to stand up higher in a tall vase.

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Finished lanterns with details added on top of the background.

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Colours can complement the finished piece

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The bottom before the circle is added.

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To finish the bottom, cut a circle of rice paper or you could use a napkin… A little bit smaller than the diameter of the vase. Brush the varnish on the bottom, lay down the circle and then brush varnish on the top. Your fairy lantern is now finished… you just need to add LED lights.

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You can also cover the entire surface of a lantern by applying the medium and then rolling the vase on a one ply napkin. Don’t forget that all napkin paper used must be only one ply you need to remove the other layers.

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Fill in the top section of the vase with either another large piece or smaller torn pieces. Use a straight cut edge to create a clean finish right along the top of the vase.

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Noticed that the napkin extends to allow wrapping the napkin around the bottom edge onto the bottom of the lantern. It only needs to extend by half an inch or so. Brush varnish on the bottom of the vase and on top of the napkin as you stick it around the edges of the bottom.

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Adhere the napkin to the varnish tearing to create a seam so that there’s not too much overlap. Any overlap will show as a darker area. Firmly press the napkin into the varnish and then brush varnish all over the entire surface ON TOP…carefully as the napkin will tend to tear. Repeat as needed, bubbles tend to form as the napkin expands. This is where your brush becomes important. It needs to be a flat synthetic that’s flexible enough to press down the napkin without tearing it.

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Turning the vase upside down generously coat the glass with the matte varnish. You’ll need to work quickly as the acrylic varnish dries quite fast. Have everything ready to go.

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Select your background using about half a napkin. The upper edge should be torn. Using your tea pin make sure you have only one layer of the three ply napkin. In the very corner of the napkin you can insert your tee pin in between the layers and then free up the corner enough to be able to pull back just a single layer of napkin. Napkins are two ply or three ply… Don’t be fooled! Make sure you’re using only one layer.

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Tools: T pins, acrylic matte varnish, scissors, a very flexible flat synthetic brush, and a variety of napkins. Small container for varnish. Clear glass vase. The brush is probably your most important tool here. A cheap brush is fine, it needs to be a flat flexible synthetic as the brush is used for pressing the napkin down when you do the second coat of varnish on top of the napkin once it is adhered.

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