LANTERN MAKING
MATERIALS:
glue
japanese paper
scissor
wire
STEPS:
Decide on a shape for your lantern. Unless you are exceptionally skilled at making wire forms, you’ll need a guide. If you want a round lantern, find a ball or bowl of an appropriate size. If you want a polygonal lantern, you can easily make a form by mounting wooden dowels in your desired shape.
Make the wire form. Once you have your form, begin by carefully wrapping the wire once around the bottom end. Be sure to leave some free wire at the end. The amount will depend on the size of lantern you are making, but you can plan to leave about the amount it would take to go around the bottom of your wire frame one and a half times. Continue wrapping around your frame in a spiral until you get to the top.
Make the bases. Using the extra wire at the bottom, shape a base. Bend the wire at a ninety-degree angle starting where you began wrapping. Make another ninety-degree bend in the same direction a short distance away. This length will be the height of your base. Shape the wire into a mirror image of the shape at the bottom of your lantern. You may also want to reinforce the base with extra wires connecting the top and bottom of the base.
Repeat at the top. Make an identical base at the top, but leave some extra wire. There should be a piece of wire crossing directly from one side of the base to the other. You will hang your light here. You can bend another piece of wire into an arc so it attaches here. This will allow you to hang the lantern from a hook.
Check for stability. Are there any weak parts in your frame? You will now reinforce it by adding straight pieces of wire connecting the two bases. Solder them in place wherever they touch another wire.
Cut paper panels. If you used a polygonal frame, this will be relatively simple because your paper will roughly be rectangular. If you used a round frame, you'll have to figure out the proper shape. Decide how many panels you want to use. If you use 10 panels, at the top it will be 1/10th of the diameter of the top base, the middle will be 1/10th of the diameter of the middle and the bottom 1/10th of the diameter at the bottom. If you are unsure of your calculations, hold them up to the lantern to double check. Cut the panels slightly large in every direction so they can overlap.
Glue the first panel to the wire frame. Wrap the top edge around the edge of the top base and glue the paper to itself. Stretching the paper taut, continue to glue the paper around the wires all the way down to the bottom of the panel, where you will again wrap the paper around the edge of the base. Let dry completely.
Glue on the remaining panels. From here on, you will be able to glue at least one edge of each panel to the neighboring panel. Remember to wait until each panel is dry before adding another.
Decorate your lantern. Lanterns often have characters or designs painted onto the sides. If you want, paint on your design now. If you prefer not to have a design, that's fine too.
Add your light. You can choose a battery-powered light if you don't want wires to show or you can hang a simple bulb by attaching it to the top base and running the wire along whatever your lantern is suspended from.
MATERIALS:
glue
japanese paper
scissor
wire
STEPS:
Decide on a shape for your lantern. Unless you are exceptionally skilled at making wire forms, you’ll need a guide. If you want a round lantern, find a ball or bowl of an appropriate size. If you want a polygonal lantern, you can easily make a form by mounting wooden dowels in your desired shape.
Make the wire form. Once you have your form, begin by carefully wrapping the wire once around the bottom end. Be sure to leave some free wire at the end. The amount will depend on the size of lantern you are making, but you can plan to leave about the amount it would take to go around the bottom of your wire frame one and a half times. Continue wrapping around your frame in a spiral until you get to the top.
Make the bases. Using the extra wire at the bottom, shape a base. Bend the wire at a ninety-degree angle starting where you began wrapping. Make another ninety-degree bend in the same direction a short distance away. This length will be the height of your base. Shape the wire into a mirror image of the shape at the bottom of your lantern. You may also want to reinforce the base with extra wires connecting the top and bottom of the base.
Repeat at the top. Make an identical base at the top, but leave some extra wire. There should be a piece of wire crossing directly from one side of the base to the other. You will hang your light here. You can bend another piece of wire into an arc so it attaches here. This will allow you to hang the lantern from a hook.
Check for stability. Are there any weak parts in your frame? You will now reinforce it by adding straight pieces of wire connecting the two bases. Solder them in place wherever they touch another wire.
Cut paper panels. If you used a polygonal frame, this will be relatively simple because your paper will roughly be rectangular. If you used a round frame, you'll have to figure out the proper shape. Decide how many panels you want to use. If you use 10 panels, at the top it will be 1/10th of the diameter of the top base, the middle will be 1/10th of the diameter of the middle and the bottom 1/10th of the diameter at the bottom. If you are unsure of your calculations, hold them up to the lantern to double check. Cut the panels slightly large in every direction so they can overlap.
Glue the first panel to the wire frame. Wrap the top edge around the edge of the top base and glue the paper to itself. Stretching the paper taut, continue to glue the paper around the wires all the way down to the bottom of the panel, where you will again wrap the paper around the edge of the base. Let dry completely.
Glue on the remaining panels. From here on, you will be able to glue at least one edge of each panel to the neighboring panel. Remember to wait until each panel is dry before adding another.
Decorate your lantern. Lanterns often have characters or designs painted onto the sides. If you want, paint on your design now. If you prefer not to have a design, that's fine too.
Add your light. You can choose a battery-powered light if you don't want wires to show or you can hang a simple bulb by attaching it to the top base and running the wire along whatever your lantern is suspended from.
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