Thursday, January 30, 2014

Artful Friday~ DIY Paper Lantern: Light up a Winter Night With a Doctor Who "Torch!"


Welcome, friends, to another Artful Friday!
As you know, we're super -Whovian here, having concocted
cakes (Tardis and Dalek)
and sonic screwdriver goodies for birthday parties!
My son even made hos own Raggedy Doctor!
He is always creating something and recently 
 made this paper lantern easily and with craft supplies that 
we had on hand.
If you're candle crazy as we are, and especially love  lighting up and
bringing a special glow to a 
frigid  winter evening, 
then you won't even need to 
purchase the little votive to  place inside!

Here is the finished product:
He ( natch) decorated his lantern with 
Whovian charm, but of course, 
your kids will go with whatever they're crazy about at the moment.
(We love you anyway, even if you choose not to
 go the DW route for your lantern!)
You know how the Brits suavely 
 call a flashlight and a lantern  a "torch?"
Well, that's what he's calling it ~!
 The TARDIS and a Silence on this side


An Ood and a DALEK over here.

The easy how -to? Here we go:
What you need:
Paper ( construction or card stock)
scissors
crayons or colored pencils
ruler ( to measure and to  draw straight lines for cutting
votive candle   ~ battery operated, obviously

How to make the lantern:
1.  Hold the paper horizontally  and draw a lines one inch  from  the top and the  bottom edges across the paper.  (This will become the top and bottom of the lantern itself.)



2.  Draw lines 1/4 " in distance vertically across the paper.
You might like to start drawing the lines 1" in from the left and the right edges.  This  will be the "margin" that you will tape or glue together. 

( BTW, I  did not take pictures of each step of my son's creation, but these shots are  a little "guidance" to get you going.)

3.  Draw a design of your own in between the  1" margins of the paper.

4. Cut on each of these 1/4 inch spaced  lines, but stop at the top and bottom edges of the lantern.

5. Fold your paper in half lengthwise so that you now  have a long skinny piece of paper (with lines cut across it!)

6. Fold in 1/2 again so that you now have one square piece of paper.

7. Unfold and tape or glue the edges of the wide side of the paper together. (  in that "margin" that you made)


The lantern will  now "stand" on its own, beveling out a bit at the middle, 
boasting your child's lovely design!

You can add the votive candle for a beautiful glow 
which will light up a porch, an end table, a kitchen counter
 or any place you'd like!!

Enjoy!!
I'd LOVE to see pictures of your lantern!
Please come back and share!
For my previous "Artful Friday" posts, 
you might like to click below.....
They're all here if you'd like to dust off something from the archives:

 ( knitting, winter crafts, the theater and piano)



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here at my home on the web! 

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Until next time,

~Chris


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7 comments:

  1. These are great, I remember making something like these at school years ago. Your son did a great job with his :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a fun and easy craft. Looks great! Thank you for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you next week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Claire and Cynthia ~ Thanks so much for the kind words and for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. I love this craft, and his turned out really really well. He is so incredibly creative!

    I love this craft because it's not messy and easy. Thanks so much for sharing this. You guys are having so much fun over here. Every time I come, you are having new adventures and making new creations! So cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lisa!!
      It was tons of fun and easy for him....

      Love your visits, friend!

      Be well.

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Thanks SO very much! I appreciate your visit!!

      Delete

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