Make a Chinese Lantern from paper or card

My children made these for Chinese New Year at school and they loved making them so much we had them hanging in the house for weeks afterwards. They also make great decorations for parties held in the house or the garden.

Make a Chinese Lantern from paper or card.

You will need:

Coloured card ( A4 is a good size for this but you can make them any size you want)
Ribbon/ string or a length of card aprox 2cm x 30cm (length of A4 card for the handle in the same coloured card as the lantern or a colour to match the decorations)
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
PVA glue, double sided sticky-tape or staples
Extra card, glitter, sequins etc for decoration
String/thread
Garden cane/bamboo 

What to do

1. Fold the card in half and press the fold firmly.

2. On the fold measure spaces evenly approx. 1½cm apart.

3. Using the ruler draw lines from the fold, stopping approx. 2cm from the open end. 

4. Cut along the lines.

5. Open out the card and turn the paper portrait (this is now the right way up, ready for decorating). Decorate by sticking a trim on the top and/or bottom of the lantern or cover it in glitter. You can even decorate it to fit the theme of a party, whatever takes your fancy. Leave to dry.

6. When the decorations are dry fold over the long sides so they over lap and fix together with double sided sticky-tape, PVA glue or staples.

7. Cut a length of ribbon, string or card for the handle and glue or staple to the inside edge of opposite sides of the top.

8. The lantern can now be stuck to the end of a garden cane/bamboo, or thread a few of them together on a piece of thread/string and hang them from the ceiling/wall or garden fence.