Chinese Lantern Paper Craft
The Chinese New Year celebrations are not complete without lanterns.
Chinese lantern crafts are always popular Chinese New Year crafts for the kids to make.
This craft adds a twist as it involves from light paper weaving.
The Lantern Festival is like the grand finale of the Chinese New Year party, and it happens on the fifteenth and last day of all the celebrations.
Picture this: kids happily carrying colorful paper lanterns as they march to the temple, and families decorating their homes with these lanterns to make everything look super festive!
This chinese lantern craft is not only exercises the creative side of the kids but also improve fine motor skills as well as cutting skills of the kids.
There is a fair bit of cutting and the use of scissors so supervision will be required for some kids.
How to Make your Chinese Lantern Paper Craft
Materials needed
- 1 Red cardstock paper
- 2 Yellow cardstock paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Glue dots
- String
- Printable Chinese Lantern Template
Instructions
Assemble of the materials needed to make the woven chinese lantern.
Print the chinese lantern templates on the right coloured paper as indicated on the templates.
The template with the oval shape of the lantern should be printed on red cardstock paper while the remaining two should be printed on yellow cardstock paper.
With the scissors cut out every part of the template and set aside.
Take care to cut the oval shape as cleanly as you can.
Cut the paper strips out of the template. Make sure to cut the thin and thick strips accordingly.
Take the oval shaped cut out and cut along the straight lines.
Make sure you stop where the line stops. Do not cut through to the edge.
Lift the middle paper strips and insert a yellow one.
Repeat the process so that only the yellow strip shows twice.
Now push the strips to the top.
Take another yellow strip and repeat the process until you weave to the edge.
Use the thin and thick strips interchangeably.
Weaving is now complete.
Glue the edge of the strips together to prevent the strips from moving.
Let the glue dry so the strips are from and are not moving.
Cut the yellow strips hanging over the edge with a scissors.
Be careful not to cut any part of the red strips.
Now it is time to glue the top and the bottom of your chinese lantern.
Apply some glue to the dotted part that says “glue”.
Stick them to the top and the bottom of the lantern.
Make sure it is glued firmly in the centre of the lantern.
Now cut a tiny strip of red paper to glue to the top and bottom of the lantern.
Now it is time to make the frills that go at the bottom of your chances lantern.
Here is a tutorial on a simple way to make paper frills.
Fold the frill template in half.
Then cut along the lines.
Do not cut all the way to the edge.
Turn to the other side.
Then apply some glue to the edge.
Glue it shut.
Once dry and glued together.
Roll to the edge and glue shut.
You may use glue stick or glue dot to glue it shut at the edge.
The lantern frills are ready.
Now using glue dots, attach the string to the top of the frills.
A glue stick may not hold string and frills together so a glue dot works well.
Turn to the back of the lantern and glue each string to the bottom.
Your Chinese Lantern Paper Craft is finished.
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