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Chinese Lantern from Red Envelopes |
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Paper Craft -
Others
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What You Need
Double-sided Tape or Paper Glue
21 Small Red Envelopes (a.k.a Red Hong Pao Packets)
Sissor to cut the Tape
1 m long String
Plastic Ruler to smooth out the folds
Stapler & Staples
Step 1: Creating the Basic Folds for the Base
Have the envelope back face up. Select the right front corner of the envelope and fold it towards the back that is facing up. It should look like the picture of the folded envelope on the right. The fold will create a pointed corner on the left of the envelope with a 25° to 30° angle. Make sure the angles of folds are of the same size for all the envelopes. Smooth out the folds with a plastic ruler to keep it in place.
Repeat this step 7 times using an envelope each time. You will need seven folded envelopes to create a base cap or a top cap. For a latern with an identical base and top, you will need 14 envelopes separated in 2 sets of 7 envelopes each.
Step 2: Fitting the Pieces Together to Form a Cap
Stick pieces of double-sided tapes at the corners of the folded triangles as shown in the picture. You can also use glue instead of double-sided tape. The pieces of envelopes should overlap one another nicely. Make sure that the tapes are placed close to the edges so that the pieces are attached together securely.
Step 3: Giving a Decorative Edge to the Base
With the cap pieces properly glued together, gently roll up the end of an envelope to form a cone-shaped curl. Keep the cone in place with either double-sided tape or glue. Repeat this process for all the 7 envelope pieces as shown in the picture. Make sure that the cone-rolls are of the same sizes.
By now, you would have 2 caps complete: one for the top and one for the base.
Step 4: Constructing the Front Panels
You will require 7 font panel pieces to go with the top cap that you have created in Step 3. With the front of the envelope facing up, from the edges at both the ends of the envelope, fold in about 1.5 cm horizontally. Place a length of double-sized tape close to the edge of the fold. Repeat this process 7 times.
Step 5: Attaching the Panels to the Top & Base
Remove the double-sided tapes from the envelopes and carefully attach it to the cone portion of the top cap. This step will require some skill, as you'll want to make sure that all the panels have the same alignments along the edges of the cone.
Step 6: Securing the Attachments
If you use double-sided tape throughout the project, you may need to reinforce the attachments especially at the cone-shaped portions of the cap pieces. A stapler and some staples will do the job nicely.
Once the top cap has been secured to the panel pieces, repeat Step 5. This time attached the loose ends of the panel envelopes to the identical base cap.
Step 7: String Up the Lantern
Place a piece of string through the hole at the tip of the top cap and knotted it so that the string will be able to hold up the lantern.
Once the top cap has been secured to the panel pieces and the string has been attached, repeat Steps 5 and 6. This time attached the loose ends of the panel envelopes to the identical base cap to complete the lantern
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