1st Anniversary Idea - Paper Lanterns - Designs By Miss Mandee

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a good weekend. This weekend we went to the county fair: it was really fun! They had lots of fun games, yummy food, and cool things to see: I even milked a cow (for my first time). This year they even had sharks—pretty sweet! I think my favorite part, though, was petting the animals. I loved seeing the baby goats, and Davian thought they were pretty interesting too.

Since we went to the zoo last weekend, Davian probably thinks that looking at animals is just what we do whenever we spend time together as a family.
So, even though today’s printable has absolutely nothing to do with baby goats, I hope you’ll enjoy it. I mentioned in a recent blog post that, for our first anniversary, I decorated our living room with paper lanterns. The paper lanterns I created at the time were just made out of colored construction paper: nothing special, but it was still really fun! But, when I was thinking back on that (because our second anniversary in coming up next week) I decided that it could make for a fun printable.
There are two different types of paper lantern templates that I’ve provided, and they are both pretty simple to make. All you need to put these together are:

My printable templates
Scissors
Tape or glue
An x-acto blade/ruler
Yarn, ribbon, or string to use for hanging
And either a hole punch or needle to thread the string through

For the more “oblong” lantern (rectangular template): (1) cut it out, (2) use the x-acto blade and ruler to slice where the markings are, (3) tape or glue the ends together (forming a cylinder), (4) push down on the ends to get the center pieces to bulge out, (5) attach the yarn, ribbon or string.

For the smaller, more rounded lantern: (1) cut it out, (2) fold in the tab and attach to opposite end (forming a cylindrical shape), (3) punch holes in each of the small circles on the top and bottom of template, (4) tie a knot at the end of your yarn, ribbon, or string, and thread it though the holes (OR use a needle to poke hole in the circles and thread at the same time), (5) pull tight, and tie another knot. I added some tassels for extra flair, and you could do the same if you’d like to.

I hope those instructions are clear enough. Let me know if you have questions about any of that and I’ll do my best to held you out.

These paper lanterns would be so fun as decorations for a first anniversary, a party, Chinese New Year, or even just to hang in a child’s bedroom! I’m sure you’ll come up with a fun use for them, and that everyone who sees them will think you are super crafty!

Happy Crafting!

*I am linking up with these parties

Mandee is a professional graphic designer, amateur bird watcher, and rollercoaster enthusiast. She is a wife to hardworking high school teacher and mommy to three adorable little humans. She fell in love with graphic design when she started working on a comedy website with a guy she met her freshman year of college. Design wasn’t the only thing she fell in love with, and they were married a year and a half later. She created Designs By Miss Mandee to be a place where she could merge her passion for design with her lifelong love of crafting.