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How-to: Painted Chinese Lantern Cluster

April 18, 2012 Leave a Comment

While lurking around on Pinterest in recent days, I found some cute-as-heck polka dotted-ish Chinese lanterns and thought I could replicate them pretty easily. Turns out, I was right. Don’t you just love it when that happens?

Supplies

1 pack of Martha Stewart brand accordion Chinese lanterns, available at JoAnn’s (see example at marthastewart.com)

acrylic paint in desired colors

paint brush

string to hang lanterns with

nail

Directions

Open each lantern and prep your paint. Using a somewhat generous amount of paint, create evenly spaced dots in the folds of the lantern as shown. If you’re not using accordion-ing lanterns like the kind from Martha Stewart, just be careful to space your dots evenly.

When your dots are all painted, let them dry for as long as the paint packaging recommends. Prep your string for mounting your lanterns and decide where to mount them as it dries. I used fishing line to mount mine. When they’re dry, tie the lanterns to the string at the desired length(s) and arrange them to your taste. Then, you’re done!

My whole living room is white, orange, blue and dark brown, so I did my lanterns in as close a blue and orange as I could get to match my existing palette. I hung them in a cluster over the mantle I scored at a local store. I wonder what my interior design idol, Emily Henderson, would think? My amateur photos don’t do this project justice, but they really look so good in person!

Filed Under: Home Decor, How-to Tagged With: chinese lantern, diy, home decor, martha stewart

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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