Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Watercolor Painted Paper Lanterns (with Jellyfish too!)

I am a sucker for kids watercolor art and crafts.  They're colorful, easy to set up, easy to clean up, and give us such bright and happy results.  (Plus, who doesn't love watching colors blend with one another?  It's pure magic.)  Today I'm pulling out another watercolor craft that will look just beautiful decorating your home this summer.  Tada!  We're painting some paper lanterns!


painted watercolor paper lanterns craft (cute fish, pom pom, earth, and jellyfish kids craft!)




Before I share how we made these lanterns, I have to thank Oriental Trading Company for sending me a bunch of craft supplies (like the white paper lanterns and pom poms.)  I always thought they were just a party and teacher supply company,  but I see now how wrong I was!  They have quite the variety of craft materials on their site!

How to Use Watercolor to Paint Paper Lanterns:

Ok, so here's how we made our lanterns-

The lanterns arrive flattened and I had to first put them together.  Once they were assembled, we grabbed our watercolor palettes and liquid watercolors and got painting!

Here's what I learned from that process

  • Liquid watercolors are hands down the best for painting paper lanterns.  Their colors are just way more vibrant!
  • Paper lanterns are more solid than I thought. I worried that the water would tear through the lanterns, but we never experienced a problem. (My son really likes his paint to be super wet... and still nothing ripped!) 


painted watercolor paper lanterns craft (cute fish, pom pom, earth, and jellyfish kids craft!)


After letting our watercolors dry, we took decorating them to the next level!  We used Sharpies to add extra details.  We also glued on pom poms and liberally applied glitter glue!


painted watercolor paper lanterns craft (cute fish, pom pom, earth, and jellyfish kids craft!)


We also transformed a couple into jellyfish by gluing on googly eyes and tying on strands of ribbons and yarn.   These were SUPER easy and SUPER cute!


painted watercolor paper lanterns craft (cute fish, pom pom, earth, and jellyfish kids craft!)

My son and I had a lot of fun painting these lanterns and I am so happy with how the project turned out.

Hope your summer is starting off well.  Happy making, friends!
painted watercolor paper lanterns craft (cute fish, pom pom, earth, and jellyfish kids craft!)