How to Decorate Chinese Lanterns

Cherry Blossom Lanterns

Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate

Ah, cherry blossom time, so romantic, so lovely...so sniffly.

If real cherry blossoms give you the sniffles, here is a project that let's you bring the beauty of nature indoors.  Many of the bigger design houses showed dimensional blossoms on spring and summer runway fashions this season.  I find them so charming.  I took that technique and instead of using fabric, cut tissue paper layers using a die cutting machine.  It's so easy to stack these up and attach them to pretty paper lanterns using Aleene's Tacky Glue Dots.  You'll want to make a garden of these! 

What you need:

3 8" tissue paper Chinese style lanterns

Coordinating patterned tissue paper

Aleene's 3/16" Tacky Dots

36 15mm faux sparkly gems

Fiskars Fuse die cutting machine

Fiskars die cutting converter plates

Any layered flower die

 Scissors

 1.  Gather materials.  2. Fold tissue in layers and die cut flowers.  You need 18 larger flowers and 24  matching smaller flowers. You'll need 9 smaller flowers in coordinating but different pattern.  I chose flowers and stripes. 3.  Each flower layer is stacked using a Tacky dot.  There are four smaller double layered flowers in each swirling row.  There are three rows.  There are three larger triple layered flowers in each row.  4. Layer each flower and then attach them to the lantern with a glue dot, pressing them down to assure they're adhered.

5.  Adhere the larger flowers.  6.  Add a sparkly to the center of each flower.  7.  The flowers swirl around the lantern in diagonal stripes as shown.  8.  This is a completed lantern!  Make three or more, hang them using a monofilament so they appear to float in the air!

Make them in all white or white and pale pink and soft grey for a garden wedding.  If patterns aren't your thing, solid colored tissue works here too!  You can literally finish these in minutes and even little kids can put these together.  I like the swirled placement to add to the appearance of movement, but you could cover a lantern entirely or make stripes or more random flowers.  Or, go ahead and cut fabric and add layered flowers to your fashion using Aleene's Peel and Stick Fabric sheets!

(You can find more fabulous fashion savvy DIY at DIY Doyenne!)