9 easy projects for decorating balconies and gardens with customized, paper lanterns
It's wonderful to dine outdoors under strings of lights and lanterns that help to create a cozy, intimate atmosphere. You'll be pleased to know that you can also make beautiful lights with your own hands, simply by decorating paper lanterns (which can easily be found in many shops). Using artificial or real flowers, paper and ribbons, you can make your own, customized lanterns - read on to find out more:
Artificial flowers
To last longer, you can opt to use artificial flowers, perhaps made of paper, silk or some other material. Choose the flora you like the most and position them around the top of a lantern. Then, from the top, they can be decoratively draped down along the sides of the latern in whatever pattern or arrangement that pleases you most.
Another idea - and perhaps even more original - is to partially or completely cover the bottom opening of the lantern with an arrangement of colored flowers!
Real leaves and flowers as decorations
In addition to artificial flowers, you can also use real ones. Use plants with leaves that are flat and easy to place on the paper surface of the latern, such as ferns, for example (shown in the photo).
If you can take your time decorating your lantern, you can prepare some dried, pressed flowers and leaves and then PVC glue them to the paper surface of the lantern - result will be amazing!
A paper lantern is like a blank canvas you can decorate however you want
Nothing stops you from drawing and painting on a paper lantern, just like you would on a blank canvas. Pictured here to inspire you, is the Flora Lantern, hand-painted by the artist Pilar Almon.
Decoupage
Tutorial via greenweddingshoes.com
Paper lanterns can be easily decorated using decoupage techniques: cut out illustrations or drawings you like (or perhaps even use decorated paper napkins), and stick them on the surface of your lantern, using PVC glue.
Tutorial via happyhappynester.com
As shown in this example, you can also cover the entire surface of the lantern with decorative paper that you like.
A mosaic of tissue paper
Tutorial via sunhatsandwellieboots.com
Staying with decoupage, you could also use scraps of tissue paper of various colors to decorate your lantern. This is an easy, fun, DIY project that even the kids can help you out with.
Dip-dyed paper lanterns
Tutorial via ilovetocreateblog.blogspot.com
Here's another quick project: dilute paint or ink in a basin of water, and then dip the bottom of the lantern into the water. Wait for the ink to get into the fibers of the paper and then repeat this "dip-dyeing" procedure to create a gradiated shading effect!
Add ribbons
And finally, here's an even easier - but no less spectacular - project: if you can hang your lanterns up high enough, decorate them with "tails" of colorful ribbons. Your lanterns will look wonderful with their colorful, fluttering ribbon tails swaying in the wind!
Which of these ideas would you like to try out?
