Create A Cute DIY Square Paper Lamp With Items You May Already Have

Paper lanterns are a beautiful and distinctive way to add ambient light to a room or outdoor space. Often appreciated for their whimsical style in Asian cultures, you will find them in homes, eateries, and decoratively adorning streets and festivals. Paper lanterns are a relatively inexpensive way to decorate your own home, whether you are entertaining or just enjoying their soft light on your own. Instagram user @artistsuniversum recently showed a great DIY hack for creating your own customized paper lanterns using wooden chopsticks, hot glue, napkins or paper towels, and water-based markers.

The result is a distinctive and creative DIY paper lantern that is perfect for stringing up indoors or out or using as a stylish centerpiece. Because these decorative lanterns are budget-friendly to create from common materials in the home, you can make several. They are also a great activity to do with children, creating one-of-a-kind works of lighted art. 

Begin by laying out your chopsticks or wooden dowels in the shape of a rectangle and securing the corners with hot glue to hold them together. Cut a napkin or paper towel to the same size as the frame, with enough to wrap and glue around the edges. Use a water-based marker to create your design, using a brush and additional water to guide the color spread into the paper. The ink will soak into the paper creating a soft water-color inspired image. Create four frames and images and then secure them together in a cube with hot glue. Once you have perfected the lantern construction with inexpensive paper towels, you can move on to other materials, such as watercolor paper, which allows ink or paint to penetrate. You can also try wallpaper scraps, book pages, tissue paper, plexiglass, clear tape, or decorative papers as your lantern shade for a more sophisticated look. 

Create a criss-cross with additional sticks or dowels to add support and a base inside, then place battery-operated twinkle lights inside to illuminate the lantern. If you want to hang your lantern, use some wire or string attached to the corners. The lanterns also sit on the legs created by the chopsticks. While the paper is flammable and, therefore, not ideal for candles, you can also use flameless LED candles inside as an alternative to string lights. For a fun finishing touch, tie a tassel to the bottom of your hanging lantern.