I first learnt about this lantern here. Ever since, I've wanted to make one .. and I ended up making two and they served as perfect Valentines Day decor.

You need :

The lanterns were for $1 each from Michaels craft store. It is seasonally available in a dollar store too. Michaels carries 2 kinds in an assortment of colors. Mine was an 8 inch diameter lantern. There's another one that's slightly bigger. At the time, I knew the bigger one would be a better choice yet I stuck to the smaller one coz I had to make 2 of them and bigger means more petals => more work=>more time.. and I'm all about making it simple :)

Step 1: Assemble the lantern

The paper lantern comes packaged along with an expander. This is to make the flat lantern unfold, expand and retain the round shape.

The paper lantern has 2 circular openings - one slightly bigger than the other. The bigger end would be the top of the lantern. The metal expander provided is slightly narrow at one end. It helps to slightly pull the expander at its sides to shorten its length. Insert the narrow end through the larger opening of the lantern till it touches the base. Pull up the paper lantern towards you and once it is fully expanded, hook the round metal hooks to the expander (as shown). Be gentle while you do this, as you might rip the paper. You have now given the flat lantern its natural globe shape. You could also follow the steps mentioned here: http://collectorspottery.com/assembling-your-paper-lantern/

Step 2: Prepare the petals

It needs about 140 petals to cover the now "global" lantern. The package comes with 300, so it is sufficient to fully cover 2 8-inch lanterns. It is now a matter of taking each petal and sticking it to the lantern with some liquid glue - that's all! :D

I found that the glue I had on hand was not of a good quality as the petals kept falling off the lantern at the slightest touch. So I used tape instead.

To make it easy for yourself, start by separating your 140 petals into smaller groups. Lay out all the petals from a group and attach the tape to the top tip (LOL) of each petal. After you have taped the petals, take one by one and stick 'em to the lantern. You might want to follow a circular order of attaching them instead of random.

Step 3: Repeat Step2 for 2nd lantern

Step 4: Attach the string to the lantern

I've attached different color strings : purple and off-white to see which looks better. I think the off-white is a better choice as it blends into the color of the walls and gives the illusion that the lantern is hanging mid-air all by itself. If you have a power source near the wall, you could : attach a small bulb to a long electrical cord ; insert the bulb into the lantern (careful, now!) ; hang the lantern by the cord.

OR do as I did:

buy a pair of LED lights like these from the dollar store, turn them on and drop them into the lanterns.

It took me exactly 5 hours to finish this project. Just some patience and good music in the background and a lazy Sunday afternoon to kill would be perfect to create these inexpensive yet glamorous beauties. Enjoy!