(DIY Paper Shard Lantern)

Hey Rebels. Hope you’re having a great Holiday Season. So far mine has been pretty much perfect. The weather has been great and Mr. Jones had a couple of days off which we filled with a lot of relaxing, movie watching and food eating. I also received this most lovely gift from him this year.

The Secret Garden Ring from Charlotte Burkhart

I adore this ring. I have been an admirer of Charlotte’s work for sometime now, so to own one of her pieces is very exciting, but for it also to have been a gift from my most treasured Mr. Jones makes it mean so much. You can see more of her brilliant work at her shop on Etsy called LSD (little sister designs)

So with the New Year just around the corner I have been organizing my thoughts about what I would like to have done before the year is up vs. what I can look forward to in the coming months and this DIY Paper Shard Lantern ended up on the NOW list. I originally mentioned it in my Making Space post after having seen it on Design Sponge

I got to work on it yesterday and am delighted with the outcome. For this project you will need.

1. Supplies

• A paper lantern the size of your choosing. I got mine from Pier One during their holiday sale. The one I am using here is of medium size compared to what they had and it was under $10.
• Craft glue. I used Mod Podge as it is my favorite for paper projects. I imagine you could use glue stick or Elmer’s if you needed to.
• Craft glue Brush (don’t forget to rest it in water during breaks and clean it thoroughly when done)
• Paper. I used standard, bright white printer paper for this. I cut my strips the length of the paper (11″), with the wide end about 2″, alternating which end was wider to get the most from the paper. I used a good deal of paper and although I lost count I will say have plenty on hand.
• Scissors, rotary tool, paper cutter. What ever it is make sure you can cut thru a few sheets at a time with it, the cutting takes almost as long as the gluing. That being said……
• Good Music, or Audio Book. This is a little time consuming and repetitive which I don’t have a problem with when there is something great to listen to.

2. Application

• Once you have your strips cut, or at least a good bit of them, start applying them to the lantern with the glue. I began by flipping the lantern upside down and starting at the bottom, hence the paper shards standing straight up. I also found it helpful to fold a bit of the wide end to make a little lip for the glue.
• When the strips won’t stand up anymore, turn the lantern right side up and rest it on one side (careful not to bend your paper shards). I then finished that side all the way to the top working with a brick pattern to cover the edges of the row before. Then I rolled it over to do the same on the other half.

I am so in love with how it turned out. It looks so spikey, but it moves so softly like a jelly fish. Oh and the way it looks at night, such a perfect glow. 

I hadn’t even finished this one before I started planning the next. Bigger and with a variety of paper style. What variations would you use for this project?