Light the Lantern

It's always fun to make a lantern at Imbolc to remind us of the light soon to return.  This is an easy lantern that even a child of 5 could do as long as an adult was nearby making sure the cutting was in the correct location.

1.  Cut a 1 inch strip off the shorter side of your cardstock or scrapbook paper.

2.  Fold you paper in half like a hamburger.

3.  Place the fold toward your tummy and cut 1 inch strips through the fold.  Stop about a half inch from the top of the paper.

This is a picture of the finished paper when all the lines are cut.  I flipped it inside out and crimped the folds  to help you see what the paper really looks like.

4.  Unfold the paper and roll the paper into a tube.  Staple the paper at both the top and the bottom.

5.  Tape or staple the 1 inch strip onto one end of the tube.  I crimp the folds to make the lantern bend more easily.  After a couple of hours, the crimped edges are not as stiff looking.

*If you would like the lantern to look like there is light in it, you can fold a yellow piece of construction paper into a tube and insert it through the middle.  Tape the yellow construction paper in place along the bottom edge.