Star Lantern

This instructable is about making a Lantern in a star shape with using bamboo. This can be great for out door patios/lantern festivals or general outdoor decor that can bring nice light and colour to an area.

Step 1: Getting Started

In these images you will see a variety of materials needed to help complete this lantern.

1) Flat bamboo
2) Round bamboo (this can be found at a gardening store)
3) White craft glue
4) cup/container for the glue
5) garden shears (cutting the bamboo)
6) glue gun
7) glue sticks
8) tissue paper (any colour/pattern you want! Be creative!)
9) Regular scissors
10) Exato knife/blade
11) small tart tin (about the size of a tea light)
12) tea light (can be found at IKEA in packages of 100)
13) Brush for applying the glue
14) Wire
15) Ruler
16) Pliers
17) A fun friend to make it with
**Note: the happy person in the background. Lanterns have that affect on people**

Comments

[A. M. Reid]

Thanks for the tutorial! I'd like to link to this on my lantern-making website madgleam.com. I've borrowed a picture if that's ok. If not, please tell me ASAP and I"ll take it down.

[Kroft]

Hi- No problem :-) I am glad its useful! Thank you for asking. K

[Kroft]

ps: Illuminares is a lantern festival that has been going on for 25 years in Vancouver. It is put on an arts non profit called Public Dreams. Here is the link http://www.publicdreams.org/

[Suniita(LMM)]

I have recently completed an outdoor installation of my handmade bamboo star lanterns at the Art In Nature: The Nature Of Art Festival at Redwood Regional Park, Oakland Hills, CA. and I stumbled upon this website. This art craft is originally from Philippines. The star or "parol" in Filipino is pretty much a symbol of Christmas...a symbol of light that is hang in every home to make the coming of the Yuletide festive. Thank you!

Suniita' (LMM)

[faisalch]

good idea

[playful-geometer]

The Lumiere Ottawa festival has been doing workshops teaching kids how to make these for the festival for years now, I love how accessible this craft project is !  Its such a lovely event, I've been sponsored as an artist there for years now with The Playful Geometer's Cosmic SpaceCrafts.  They're not so easy for the average crafter to make so I decided to post a simpler paper-only polyhedral lantern instructable here: Quasicrystal Star Lantern.  Hope you enjoy :)

[maHalo-halo]

great skills! Did you learn this from a Filipino? it looks so much exactly like the traditional Filipino Christmas lantern and how it's traditionally made. It's called Parol :)

http://www.myparol.com/myparol/howto.html

its History -- http://www.myparol.com/myparol/abouttheparol.html

http://www.myparol.com/myparol/OurParols.html

this is their mutation now ---- http://www.myparol.com/myparol/modern.html


Here's one from Disney's Family Fun craft site, which have been there all along:

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/making-a-star-lantern-674976/ 

[Alberta Leong]

very pretty! :D good job!

[A. M. Reid]

Thank you for the use of the photo. I knew about Public Dreams but thanks for mentioning them - they've done great work!

[misslily]

Has anyone been able to locate the 1/4" flat bamboo?

This is an excellent tutorial.  Very clear, and exactly what I was looking for!

[mrfoltz]

I really like your instructable... I think I'll try to make a big one for my window for X-mass.... I just know my sister who is pretty religious will call it a pentagram, but it's my house...so... At my local $ store they have fake/battery operated tea lights, think I'll use them... What is the shape of the last picture called... could you put up a drawing of it.. I think it's cool!!!

[Kroft]

I am glad you will find it useful! Yes a big one for Christmas would be very pretty! If you paper over the bamboo thick enough it will look less like a pentagram? The lines from the bamboo will not show through as much. There are also fake tea lights that flicker like a real candle. Those could be a nice option for lighting. I will soon put up a drawing of how to make that lantern frame in the last picture that I have posted up. Or I might end up doing an instructable of how to make it. Only able to do what time can allow. Thanks for the interest!

[spooky1300]

Its been 20 years since the last time I saw star lantern during Christmas, I will assume you are from Philippines.

[Kroft]

No I am not from the Philippines. :-)

[CementTruck]

This is a traditional Christmas decoration in the Philippines called a "Parol" (from the Spanish Farol, meaning lantern, or lamp). You beat me to it. I was going to make an instructable for this before Christmas this year.

[Kroft]

cool I didn't know that!

[OnePrettyThing]

Very pretty and fun to do with kids as well. Thanks so much for the project, I'll be linking to this.

[Kroft]

great thanks! I like your site.

[metal-matt]

woo pentagrams! :D lol.