How to Make Paper Stained Glass Lanterns

Nothing says "Party!" like a beautiful bank of paper lanterns. You can make your own paper lanterns using just a few easily obtained craft supplies. Even better, these lanterns do not use electricity or flames, so you can hang them anywhere you like and then forget about keeping an eye on them for the evening.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Black construction paper
• Colored tissue paper
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Glow sticks
• Pipe cleaner
• Hole punch

1. 
   Some paper lanterns have clearly designed patterns while others are beautifully random.

   Cut designs out of the black paper using the scissors. You can fold the paper over and cut it like a paper snowflake, or you can just cut out random shapes. You can throw the scraps of paper away, since the large piece of paper is the only thing that you will need for this project.

2. 
   You can use a rainbow of colors or stick to one color per lantern.

   Use the glue stick to fix pieces of colored tissue paper to the back of the black paper. As you add more and more pieces and the holes in the black paper are filled in with color, you will begin to see a stained-glass effect. Make sure you use plenty of glue so that the tissue paper does not peel off the black paper as the glue dries.

3. Let the glue dry. It should be completely dry before you move on. This can take up to thirty minutes.

4. Roll the black paper into a cylinder. You can secure the cylinder with glue or tape. The tube should stand on end when you place it on the table.

5. Punch two holes in the cylinder. The holes should be exactly opposite each other and within an inch of the top of the tube.

6. 
   Glow sticks are a safe, effective way to light up your paper stained glass lanterns.

   Thread a pipe cleaner through one hole, a glow stick and then the other hole. This will suspend the glow stick inside the lantern. Do not snap the glow stick until you are ready to use the lantern since they only burn for about 6 hours. You can hang the lantern using the pipe cleaner, or you can set lanterns on tables to serve as festive lighting centerpieces.