I am starting to get into the Christmas mood so I was flipping through my magazine Scrapbooks etc and I saw these cute paper lantern ornaments. I got super excited because they had directions to make these online. So I logged on and went to their site found the ornaments and followed the link. A window popped up and said I needed to join first, ok no biggie typed in my info hit enter and all I got was an error message. I tried three times to join and it was just not going to let me. So I was a little bummed out but I put my thinking cap on and told myself I can do this!
So here is what I came up with. I love how they all came out and I still have more to make.
Here's what you will need:
Christmas Paper
Ruler
Scissors or a Cricut
1/16 Hole Punch
Fishing Line
Needle
Beads
I went to Michael's Craft store looking for some Christmas paper and I found this book. It was suppose to be 19.99 but it was in a slot marked 9.99 (which is why I picked it). At the register it rang up 19.99 so I told the lady I didn't mind paying that for it but let her know there were many more in that slot. So she discounted it to 9.99 and thanked me for being honest and letting them know so that there were no more mistakes. So BONUS for me!
Pick out 3 different colors. Once you do this you will need to cut 5 strips of each color. Measurements are 1/2 inch wide by 4 inches long. If you have a cricut you can cut out rectangles just adjust the measurements. I have SCAL so I made my own template.
And I let my Cricut do all the work for me.
Once you have your strips cut you will need to punch a whole in to them at each end about 1/8th of the way in. I did 5 strips at a time and had no problem.
After you punch your hole you want to stack them into one pile alternating the colors.
Now it's time to cut a piece of fishing line about a foot long and tie 4 knots at the end. Now you need to add a few beads. I have clear glass beads on mine, but you can choose any colour or size that you want. Once you have your beads on you will want to thread your needle with the fishing line. Now pick up your stack of strips and start color side facing you and put your needle threw. Then flip it over and insert the needle back into the paper on the plain side. Once you do this add some more beads to the top.
This is what it should look like when your done.
Now comes the tricky part. Pull the line from the top taunt and at the same time fold your strips in half. Now about an inch to an inch and a half up from the last bead you put on, you want to tie 4 knots again. Once you do that you can let the strips go and this is what it should look like. 
Once you have that done you want to start from the outside and start separating your strips.
Continue doing this until you have all the strips separated. And walla! You have one paper lantern ornament.
I haven't found a way to make the strips stay in place yet but I am working on it, In the mean time I just love these!
Hope you enjoy making them as much as I did!
