Chinese New Year Tiny Lantern Tutorial

Happy Chinese New Year!  Today we celebrated by making tiny, paper Chinese lanterns and dragons.

To make your own Chinese lantern you will need

Paper
Scissors
Glue or tape
String
Stick (optional)

Step One:

Decide how big you want your lantern.  I wanted mine about 2 inches tall.  Cut your paper into a rectangle.  For my 2 inch tall lantern I cut a rectangle that was 2 inches by about 5 inches long.

Step Two:

Fold your paper in half length wise.  Along the fold, cut slits perpendicular to the fold every quarter inch.  Remember not to cut all the way through to the top of the paper or you'll cut your lantern into little pieces.  Leave about 1/4 inch at the top of the paper.

Step Three:

Open up your folded paper.  Bring the two shorter ends of the rectangle together.  Glue these ends together to form a tube with your paper.  Push down gently on the top and bottom of the tube. This will push out the sides of your tube and make it look more like a lantern.  And you're done.

You can attach string to your tiny lantern and hang it from a stick if you'd like.

I wish you good fortune and happiness in the upcoming year!