Small Lights: A Lantern Round-Up

It gets dark so early now. Some of us have a lantern walk on the calendar, and some of us just noticed the five o’clock dusk and decided that was reason enough to light something. Either way, November is the month for small lights.

Lanterns are a good kind of project because they’re hard to get wrong. Crooked tissue paper still glows. Lopsided stars still twinkle. So we rounded up four of our favorite lantern crafts from over the years, from the very simple to the slightly-more-involved-but-worth-it. Each one has an audio story to go with it, so little hands can stay busy while big ears get to settle in.

Paper Lanterns with Waldorfish

Our friends at Waldorfish share a tutorial for tiny decorative paper lanterns, made from the paper used in their wet-on-wet watercolor painting course. They’re pint-sized and colorful, and a whole passel of them looks lovely on a nature table, tied onto a wrapped gift, or tucked around a string of twinkle lights.

Get the full details in Crafting the Holidays: Paper Lanterns with Waldorfish.

Listen while you craft: Martin & Sylvia, “Festival of Lights.“

DIY Japanese Silk Paper Lanterns

Jenn of Maplerose walks us through turning a plain glass jar into a stained-glass-style lantern with bleeding tissue paper, a little thinned-out glue, and a wire handle. There’s no wrong way to do it. Rip the paper, cut it into hearts or mushrooms, press in a dried leaf or a feather. Each lantern comes out looking like whoever made it.

Find the steps in Sparkle Craft: DIY Japanese Silk Paper Lanterns.

Listen while you craft: So Many Fairies, “The Lantern Prince.” It’s a fairy tale about a prince who follows his kindness instead of what’s expected of him, which seems like a good thing to think about with a lantern in your hands.

Milk Jug Lanterns

This is the one for your lantern walk. A recycled plastic milk jug gets covered in layers of tissue paper shapes, fitted with a ribbon handle, and filled with a battery tea light or two. The more colors you pile on, the prettier the glow. It’s also a good way to use up the tissue paper stash from last year’s birthday parties.

Here’s the full tutorial: Sparkle Craft: Milk Jug Lanterns.

Listen while you craft: Martin & Sylvia: More Adventures!, “A Little Bit of Light.” Martin and Sylvia make their lanterns every year, and this time they learn how much a single lantern can show you in the dark.

Star Jars

A disposable cookie sheet, a glass jar, a strand of battery twinkle lights, and a lot of tiny poked holes. Roll it up, switch it on in a dark room, and you’ll hear the quiet “oohs” right away. An adult handles the cutting, then even a supervised preschooler can poke out a whole galaxy. Use it as a night light all winter or a lantern for the next camp-out.

Learn how to make one in Sparkle Craft: Star Jars.

Listen while you craft: The Willowbee Tree, “Listen to the Lights.” The Willowbee children learn how to be excited and quiet at the same time, which is also a handy skill for poking holes in a cookie sheet.

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Want more small lights to make? Browse the Sparkle Crafts archive for more lantern and candle ideas.

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