Cardboard Shoji Lantern

Intro: Cardboard Shoji Lantern

Intro.

The soft glow of candle light has always been an appealing desk accent. Less appealing, however, is the fire hazard it poses with all my papers and notebooks. Using the power of arts and crafts, I created an LED Shoji-style lantern to safely (and aesthetically) mimic candle light.

What is Shoji?

A shoji is a type of Japanese room divider or door. It is typically made of a translucent material mounted on a wooden frame: Wikipedia.

Why Cardboard?

Many people don't have an arsenal of tools at their disposal (me included). This is just an example of a cute project that anybody can make with enough patience and an afternoon to spare. Also, cardboard is light, sturdy, and easily accessible. What's not to love?

Prerequisites:

Patience and a steady hand. Use of Arduino is needed if you want an animated candle flame.

STEP 1: CAD Your Design

For most projects, jumping straight into building ends in disaster. Cadding a design allows you to better visualize the final product and minimize mistakes. Due to the simplicity of the lantern, I used TinkerCAD to make a mock-up. If you're making a more complex design, feel free to use programs like Fusion 360 or Solidworks.

(If that's the case, you probably already know what you're doing.)

Tips:

- Make sure you don't design your cardboard too thin! This will make your structure flimsy.

STEP 2: Cut Frame Sections

First, mark your cuts using a pencil and ruler. A pen works too, but allows less room for error. Using your knife, carefully cut out the pieces detailed above. This can be done by repeatedly scoring along your marks.

Tips:

- Keep in mind your cutting surface. You probably don't want to scratch up your floor or table, so use a scrap piece of cardboard to act as a cutting board.

- Be patient while cutting! The cleaner and more accurate your cuts are, the better your lantern will look.

- If an edge came out "fuzzy", run a dab of white glue over an edge to smooth out any tufts. Note that this method will only work on minor imperfections.

STEP 3: Glue Shade Material

Trim the shade material to desired size. Glue it onto your frame sections using a glue stick or white glue. Let dry in a sunny place for about half an hour.

Tips:

- Leave excess on your trimmed shade material. You can always cut away more, but you can never reattach.

- Cleanliness is key. Make sure your shade material is wrinkled as little as possible.

- Don't use hot glue for this step.

STEP 4: Assemble Imitation Flame

While you wait for the shades to dry, assemble your imitation candle flame. For simplicity, I just wrapped a 144 LED/m addressable strip around a sturdy roll of computer paper. Though these LEDs will end up in an enclosed space, the waste heat they produce will not ignite the paper. I paired the strip with an Arduino Nano, but you can work with a less complex light source if you don't require a flame animation.

For simplicity, my method of turning the lantern off is by unplugging the Arduino's USB cable.

STEP 5: Assemble All

Now that your "flame" is done and the shades have dried, it's time to fully assemble the lantern. If not using a battery for the lamp, make sure to cut out a discreet hole for a power cable.

For a stronger and cleaner joint, cut out a 5 mm "lip" from one frame section and leave the other alone (see diagram). Gluing the other section into this lip yields a more continuous corner, hiding the core of the cardboard.

Repeat this method for all shade sections.

Finally, I left the top unglued so I could more easily access the internals of the lamp. You don't have to do this if you don't need to physically access the light.

Tips:

- When using with hot glue, work quickly! It solidifies a lot faster than other glues out there.

STEP 6: (Optional) Code

To speed up development, I simply modified FastLED's Fire2012 example with a different color palette to create a pleasing candle flame. Feel free to code your own light source.

STEP 7: Enjoy!

Enjoy your new relaxing lamp! Feel free to play with the settings of the light to best fit the ambience of your space.

Things to expand on:

- A proper wooden frame?

- A controller / switch?

- A portable lantern?

Comments

[curlyllama2007]

did you paint it?

[IranianKooshaFarmer]

Hey! I am thinking about making this for a school project and i was just wondering if you have any images of the wires connecting the LED strip to the arduino nano, that would be super helpful thanks!

[spikytuna]

No problem. Here's a super simplified wiring diagram. Make sure you have the correct jumper wires to connect the nano to the strip. Good luck with your project!

[bolsunovskyi]

I think this construction might be dangerous, LEDs produce heat, even small ones, so this cardboard lamp may provoke fire during long term working. Be aware...

[jeanniel1]

LEDs don't produce that much heat to worry. Just be sure none of the electronics is touching the tissue paper and it should be fine.

[awisner1]

I wonder what could be used to fill the holes and paint the cardboard without damaging the cardboard. It's beautiful!

[SteveB301]

Use the"lip" method the author uses for the corner seams.
Cut the window openings smaller top and bottom by the same dimension as the thickness of the cardboard. Then cut away the back later of passport and the corrugations, be careful not to cut through the front layer. Finally fold the flap does over the end of the corrugations and glue.
In my experience corrugated cardboard paints poorly, it always brings out the corrugations. Try building out of matte board, many colors are available, and it's solid do there wouldn't be any edges to finish. The color is only on the face, the edges are white.

[jeanniel1]

We used to use markers to color the white edges after cutting

[JHB3]

You could glue or decoupage decorative paper over the Cardboard. Even ‘Contact’ brand paper can be adhered to it. Make sure to cut it larger so you can fold it over the opening edges. Tips: if using white glue, make sure to spread it very thin so it doesn’t wrinkle your paper/cardboard. Spray adhesive works well. Black cardstock paper would be a nice choice for a more traditional Japanese look.

[Mitty35]

Love the fact that you can make it with items are easy to obtain. I'd use a battery tea light or cancle. Voted for you!

[estxgran2]

Not a candle! Unless you're close all the time it's lit.

[Mitty35]

No, luv. Not a real candle...I wrote a battery tea light or candle. Meaning one of the candles from the Dollar Tree that comes with batteries. I imagine it would go up in flames immediately if I were to use a real candle. LOL But thanks for looking out.

[JHB3]

Thank you for including the written pattern plan for those of us looking for a faster craft :-). You can also use parchment paper, onion skin paper or waxed paper (for no heat Light source only!) instead of tissue paper. Nice job.

[seamster]

Nice and simple, but very attractive result especially from such simple materials. Nicely done!

[spikytuna]

Thanks!