Project 11 Week 17 – Shredded Newspaper Lantern

Most people have a paper lantern or two lying around the house, but they can get pretty boring very quickly, so this week’s project is focused on rethinking that old standard!

I had the newspaper already shredded from an old school project (for anyone who cares, its The New York Times).  Many of the pieces are simply black and white text, but there is also a lot of color.

I made a mixture of water, glue, and some Mod Podge and just started laminating the pieces on there.  I did about 1/4 of the lantern the first night, and left it to dry only to wake up the next day and find that I hadn’t used enough glue and all the pieces had curled up and were falling off.  So I rubbed the failed pieces off, and started again.  But this time I learned from my mistakes and made sure to add a good solid final coat of Mod Podge or varnish on top of the paper pieces before leaving them to dry.  And success!

I love the mixture of the newsprint and the pops of color, and this was a totally fun and fresh start for a tired old lantern!

And of course, if you love this light but aren’t sure about making your own, you can always come on by my Etsy shop and buy one of mine!

Stay warm and dry, Allison