Pumpkin Lantern Tutorial

Since some of you expressed interest in learning how to make a pumpkin lantern I put together a little tutorial and visual aid this evening.  They are surprisingly easy to make and so cute!

Supplies:

• 2 sheets of 6″ x 6″ paper
• Approximately 18″ of coordinating ribbon (I used 3/8″ ribbon in my demo.)
• Hole punch ( I believe mine is 1/4″)
• Embellishments
• Adhesive for embellishments

1. Choose some coordinating paper.

I chose to use two 6×6 coordinating sheets of Fall-ish looking paper by BasicGrey.

2.  Cut 12 to 20- 1/2″ x 6″ strips of paper.   I used 20 strips for this demonstration and I alternated my them solid/pattern/solid.

3.  Make a mark on each side of the strips about 1/2″ from the end.

4. Punch a hole where you made the marks on each strip of paper. If you have a Crop-o-dile this process will go much quicker. Because I’m old school with my hole punch, I could only punch holes in four strips at a time…

5. Choose some coordinating ribbon.  I used about 18″ of 3/8″ Thanksgiving-themed ribbon.  Thread ribbon through the bottom hole and knot to keep it in place.  Thread ribbon through top hole.

6. Pull ribbon tightly until the stack of paper strips bends as shown in photo.  Knot the ribbon again at the top to keep the c-shaped bend in place.

7. Fan out the paper strips until you achieve the desired pumpkin shape.

8. Embellish as desired.  I added a “Thank You” tag and two die-cut leaves to the top of my pumpkin.  I then tied the ribbon into a loop at the top and trimmed off the excess.

Well, there you have it folks!  Pretty easy, eh?  I sure hope the preschool teachers enjoy these pumpkins because I think they’re really darling.

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