Our new store decorations are up for Fall and I am LOVING them!!
We decided to make little Fairy Lanterns! We combined the fairies, lanterns, and fall leaves. The combination reminds me of a warm fall evening with Fairies Dancing above. It is JUST PERFECT for our store!!
For 1 lantern, you will need:
- 4 pieces of cardstock paper 8 1/2" x 11" (2 for the base, 1 for the roof, 1 for the bottom)
- 1 piece of Vellum paper 8 1/2" x 11"
- 3-4 feet of twine (for hanging lantern)
- 1 LED tea light with switch. DO NOT USE A FLAME TEA-LIGHT due to risk of fire
- Die-cut shapes such as fairies, flowers and leaves (for decorating your lanterns)
- Paper for cutting out the shapes (black cardstock for the silhouettes, fall colors for the leaves)
- Score Board
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Exacto knife and cutting mat (optional)
- The Ultimate Glue (or some other kind of clear glue for gluing paper and vellum)
- Hot Glue Gun (for gluing the roof, LED light, and twine in place)
**I used the Accu-Cut oval shape die-cut here at the store. If you buy paper from our store, the die-cut machine is free to use**
Using The Ultimate Glue, glue the pieces of vellum on the inside of the oval (so you can't see the glue from the outside)
*As you can see, the glue is visible. That is why we glue the vellum on the inside of the lantern*
In order to do this, we need to make sure it will fit nice and snug on the bottom of the lamp.
Cut a piece of cardstock to a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" square.
Line up the edge of your paper against the edge of the score board BUT THEN scoot it *just a touch* to the right leaving a sliver of a gap between your paper and the edge of the score board
In the center of your bottom piece, draw a rough-size circle shape for your LED light to fit. Use scissors or an exacto knife to cut out the shape. It actually works out better if the hole you cut is funky and NOT a perfect circle. The reason is that the jagged-edge will help to hold the LED light in place.
If you do NOT want a light, skip this step.
Slide the lantern into the bottom, it should fit very snug. Using The Ultimate Glue, glue the lantern to the base.
You will need to cut out 1 triangle at first so that you can then trace it.
To make the triangle, you need a piece of cardstock that measures 4 3/4" x 3 1/2". Find the center point on the long side and cut the sides to make a triangle (see photos below)
Take a piece of cardstock and line up the triangle so the 4 3/4" side is up against the outside edge of the paper. Using a pencil, trace the triangle.
When you get to the last space, create a 1/4" tab (see photo below, right)
Then, using The Ultimate Glue, apply some glue to the tab and attach it to make your roof!!
If you are like me, you may want your light to be hidden. Not only did I want there to be an LED light inside the lantern, but I wanted to be able to turn it on and off!!
To do that, cut out a piece of paper that is the same size as the LED light. I used a scalloped circle punch I had.
*Using a standard hole-punch, punch a small hole in the side* -- This is where the switch will be accessible.
Use a dab of Hot Glue to glue the twine in place and attach the paper to the underside of the tea light MAKING SURE to place the hole-punch spot on top of the switch so you can switch your lantern on and off.
To make sure the dangles are HEAVY enough to hang correctly, I always hot-glue a penny onto the bottom dangle and hide it with the same shape..
Decorate the inside and outside with silhouettes! We used black cardstock and cut out some fairies. We used some of the new fairies from Poppy/Memory Box BUT THEN we also enlarged some fairies AND cut some of them up, copied and cut them out so we could make TONS of fairies doing all sorts of fun jumps and twirls.. they each have their own personality!!
When we glued the silhouettes into the lantern, we made SURE to only apply a little bit of glue to the tips of the fairy hands or feet so that the glue would not show up on the outside of the lantern.
*it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you wait until the very end to attach your roof.. otherwise you will not be able to put your fairies (or other silhouettes) inside your lantern.
Put the roof in your hand, upside down, and put a dollop of glue in each corner.
THEY LIGHT UP!!!
Stop in to see us and get a glimpse at all our fun Fall Decor.. we would just LOVE to share our ideas with you!!!