Mid Autumn Festival craft inspiration from Sweet P: DIY paper lanterns

It’s time to get crafty with a Sassy Mama collaboration…

As we enter into September -with Mid Autumn Festival just around the corner – some of you may start thinking about mooncakes and lanterns. We thought it would be fun for the kids to put together their own lanterns this year. I’ve kept to the traditional Chinese theme in this post but you can easily change the theme by altering the pattern of the paper, ribbon colour and the gift tag.

Read more: All You Need to Know about Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

The lantern isn’t meant to be illuminated, so it is toddler-friendly, but you may want to remove the stick that holds the lantern to ensure safety. Aside from letting the kids play with these lanterns during the Mid Autumn Festival, they can also be used as party decorations.

What You Need:

• Patterned paper
• Red ribbons
• Gift tag
• 2 paper cups
• Scissors
• Cutter
• White glue
• Styrofoam glue
• A stick

What To Do:

1. Stick patterned paper on to your paper cup. I chose a red base paper as I want to keep the Chinese flavour.

2. Cut the paper cup into strips as in the picture.

3. Trim the edges of the paper cup.

4. Curve the strips to the shape of a lantern.

5. Use another paper cup to make the lid of the lantern. Trim the cup as in the picture.

6. Make a small cross at the centre of the lid with a cutter.

7. Insert the ribbon of the tag into the cut you made on the lid and tie a knot at the end to prevent it from slipping out.

8. Make another small cross at the centre of the other lid with a cutter.

9. Fold a piece of ribbon into half and insert the folded end into the lid. Tie a knot at both ends. Leave a small hoop at the end that you will hold the lantern so you can insert a stick into the hoop.

10. Assemble the lid and the cup together. Stick the ends of the cup onto the lid with Styrofoam glue.

11. Wrap a ribbon around the edges.

12. Wrap another ribbon around the other edge of the lantern. You can use fabric glue to hold the ribbon in place.

Happy Mid Autumn Festival, mamas!