Ever since I shared the first set of lanterns here on Instructables, I have been thinking about how to make them even easier and more accessible. To be honest, it’s not that easy to find the perfect size drinking glasses…

Today I am excited to share a new solution – see how we can make these magical Dandelion paper lanterns beautiful enough for a wedding, with up-cycled plastic water bottles!

Step 1: Materials and Tools:

Materials and tools:

clear plastic water bottles from your recycle bin! Those with grooves are fine, they don’t show when lit.
white paper : I used Neenah Exact Index Cardstock which worked beautifully to get more of the dimensional effect. This paper is the perfect weight, not too flimsy like text paper, not too heavy yet hold its shape nicely.
LED tealight candles, or if you want a really bright glow, use these LED Warm White Fairy Lights like I did for these lanterns!
I used a Silhouette Portrait here to cut the designs, but it’s easy enough to cut with an X-acto knife
clear tape
free templates both for hand cutting and a Silhouette file which you can download at the end

Step 2:

First we will remove the labels and cut the clear plastic bottle to about 8″ tall. I use 1 Litre and 1.5 Liter bottles here.

Print out the template, and cut along the lines.

After cutting them by hand or on your Silhouette machine, fold those petals up so the blossoms become three dimensional.

When a pattern gets a little more intricate, use a spatula or butter knife to help lift them off the cutting mat.

Step 3:

Tape the paper to the outside of the plastic bottle with clear tape or double sided tape.
Light the LED candles or string lights, and drop them into the bottles.

The weight of the lights will hod the plastic-paper bottles down securely.

Step 4:

Play with different shapes and patterns! The possibilities are endless! If you want to use this pattern, here are the free designs of these paper lanterns for you to download.

You can mirror the pattern or rotate it to create many different variations like in these pictures!

Ready to make a wish?