Tutorial Tuesday: Make a Fall Lantern

Fall Lantern Tutorial

Hi! It's Diana here on Tutorial Tuesday. Today I have a paper lantern tutorial and template to share with you.  

When I first saw this lovely leaf stamp from Red Rubber Designs, I knew it would be beautiful illuminated. And I love it as the focal point of this small paper lantern!

These are a few of the suppies you will need... lantern template, Every Leaf  rubber stamp set, a Tsukineko ink pad and Tsukineko gold embossing powder. Heavy weight vellum, two colors of card stock, an eyelet and assorted embellishments.


Stamp leaf onto vellum then heat emboss the image. I used a Tsukineko ink pad and a Tsukineko gold embossing powder. You will need two of the embossed images.


Print the small lantern template onto the card stock color you've chosen for your lantern base.


 Cut lantern out on solid lines and lightly score on dashed lines.


Now it's time to make a "frame" for your leaf image. Choose an oval die that your leaf will fit into nicely.


Cutting the oval die and a scalloped oval die paired together will result in a nifty little frame for your focal image. You will need two frames.


Use one of your frames as a guide to trace an oval onto your 2 larger lantern sections. Cut out.


Trim out your focal image and glue to frame with embossed side showing as if it is in the frame. (Glue goes on front side of embossed piece.)


If you'd like... now is the time to add some color to your images. If using Copic markers, use a light touch... too much ink gives the image a "muddy" look.


Now comes the really fun part! Add your embellishments and glue framed focal image to your lantern piece.


Squeeze a line of glue down the tab on the side of the lantern piece. Then glue piece together... close lantern bottom and you're almost there.  ;D


Attach a large brad through top tabs on lantern. Then thread with a ribbon and knot below brad.



Keep in mind that this is a paper lantern and you should keep safety first! A battery operated "tea light" illuminates this small lantern beautifully.


I can just see five or six of these lined up down the center of the dinner table... or maybe hanging from a pretty light fixture!





The PDF version of this tutorial, along with the template, is available as a free download in the Red Rubber Designs store.

Have fun and enjoy!  ;D