TISSUE PAPER LANTERNS

Pop a glowstick or battery-powered light inside to light up the patterns at night – or fill with sweets and turn into a piñata!

YOU WILL NEED

✽ Balloons ✽ Scissors ✽ White wet strength tissue paper ✽ PVA glue ✽ Wide paintbrush ✽ Twine ✽ Pencil ✽ Coloured tissue paper ✽ Bradawl ✽ Glowsticks ✽ Branch or bamboo cane

TO MAKE

❶ Blow up a balloon and knot to close.

❷ Cut the white tissue paper into 10cm squares. Start covering areas of the balloon in PVA glue using a paintbrush (you may need to water this down if it’s too thick), then lay the tissue paper squares on top so they overlap. Repeat until the balloon is covered, leaving

enough of a gap at the knotted end for what’s to go inside.

❸ Cover the balloon evenly in another layer of white tissue paper squares in the same way. Tie a piece of twine to the balloon knot and hang to dry where it can’t stick to anything.

❹ Once dry, repeat this again, adding another two layers of white tissue paper, followed by a layer of PVA glue over the top. Hang to dry, and then cover with one more layer of glue (if making a piñata, use regular tissue paper and there’s no need to add extra layers of glue). Leave to dry.

❺ Once dry, pop the balloon that’s inside and remove it (by shaking the lantern gently). If

the papier-mâché shell loses its shape, blow into it, or gently push out any ‘dents’.

❻ Draw and cut out shapes from coloured tissue paper and decide on a pattern for your lantern (remember the hole goes at the top). Glue in place.

❼ Once dry, make two holes opposite each other with a bradawl, 2.5cm down from the balloon opening, and thread through a loop of twine.

❽ Snap your glowstick and pop it inside (you may wish to hang it with string so it hangs in the centre of the lantern).

❾ Tie to a branch or cane.