striped lantern garland DIY...

Rebecca and Patrick from Thuss Farrell are back with this super graphic and chic DIY using the Oh Joy for Target wire lanterns!

As a former prop stylist at Martha Stewart, Rebecca is always full of chic party ideas. So today, I asked her to share a way that she'd bring some color to our gold lanterns. She came up with this easy striped lantern garland that can be customized to whatever colors fit your party...

Here's how to make them...

Striped Wire Lantern Garland

You'll need:
- 6 (or more) Oh Joy for Target wire lanterns
- assorted italian/florist crepe paper rolls (we used: pink pansy, metallic gold, and black)
- rolling cutter and ruler (or scissors)
- glue dots (in mini and craft size)
- 5/8” 3 strand cotton rope
- battery-operated flameless led tealights (optional)

Here's how:

1. Using a rolling cutter (or scissors), cut assorted widths of crepe paper (we used .75”, 1”, 1.5”, 1.75” and 2”) all 15” long. You should cut perpendicular to the grain of the crepe paper (the vertical ridges of the paper).

2. Lay a lantern on its side on your work surface. Place a mini glue dot at the end of a strip of crepe paper and adhere it to the lower end of the lantern wires just above where the wires curve down. This allows the stripes to stack and not hang lower than where the lantern curves at the base. Thread the strip over and under, and when you get halfway around, straighten the strip and add another glue dot to adhere it to a wire. Continue around, and when the paper ends meet, use the larger craft glue dot to secure. Trim any excess paper.

3. Continue adding more strips in the same way as desired, altering the over and under pattern as shown.

4. Add a flameless tealight inside the lantern, and then tie the lanterns onto a thick cotton rope as desired for hanging. We recommend using only flameless tea lights, so that there is no fire risk with this craft project!

A few extra tips:
-If you are going to use these outside in a humid environment, crepe paper can sag and stretch just from the moisture in the air. To prevent this, stretch the strips fully after cutting them, this will create a thinner paper and a much longer strip then trim off the excess to the length you need.

-The lanterns are on the heavy side, so be sure to hang them securely. They can also be strung individually, hung as a single lantern, or you hang them in a group.

-Finally, these lanterns would look festive as a centerpiece as well place on the table in clusters!

P.S. See these Party People Favors from last week!

{Crafts, styling and photography by Thuss Farrell for Oh Joy}