Craft Stained Glass Lanterns

Of course, we’re not actually making stained glass—that involves adding metallic salts to molten glass and your parents would probably think that was a teensy bit dangerous. Instead, you can get the look with the help of tissue paper and glue.

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Materials

  • Tissue paper
  • Scissors
  • Clean empty jar
  • White Glue
  • paintbrush
  • 20 inch length thin garden wire
  • Beads
  • Play sand
  • Tea light

Directions

  1. Find a few colors of tissue paper that work well together and cut them into small shapes. You could go for a random pattern or create a specific picture or scene.
  2. Coat a section of a clean jar with white glue and start to stick on your pieces. Don’t worry if they overlap as you go—this just creates a more interesting look.
  3. When you’ve coated it all, you can paint over the top with another layer of white glue, just to make sure everything is well stuck down.
  4. Take your length of garden wire, put a loop in one end and start to thread on the beads until you have enough to form a handle. Try to choose beads that go well with the colors of your stained glass.
  5. Wrap the unbeaded section of wire around the neck of the jar and twist it to attach. Undo the looped end and thread this under the wire at the opposite side, pulling it through until just the beaded section is on show. Finally, twist both ends of the wire tightly and carefully cut off any extra.
  6. Add a little play sand to the bottom of the jar and place in your tea light. The sand keeps the tea light from moving around too much and will also help to put out the flame if it’s knocked over.

When it’s dark, ask a grown-up to light your tea light so you can see the stained glass colors glow. Oh, and please remember, you should never try to light it yourself because matches can be very dangerous—not quite as bad as melting glass at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit in your kitchen, but still a safety no-no. Tip: You can use a row of stained glass lanterns to provide atmospheric lighting.

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