Autumn Lanterns

Take advantage of the wonderful autumn coloured leaves around you by making beautiful and easy lanterns out of them. You don't have to dry the leaves over weeks between the pages of a book. You can easily use dry leaves you find outside; just as long as they are wiped clean and dried completely. All the materials needed for this activity are available at home and it is an easy activity for young children to participate in as well.

Things You Will Need -

• Dried leaves (wiped clean and dried completely)
• Two sheets of rice paper or butter paper
• Thick chart paper in yellow, red or brown
• Florist's wire or twine
• Scissors
• Glue
• Hole punch

Method -

• Lay down a piece of butter paper or rice paper and arrange the leaves around the paper in the pattern you would like on the top half of the paper. Dot the paper with glue and then fold the bottom half of the paper horizontally over the top.
• You should now have one long rectangular piece of butter paper, with the leaves sandwiched in the middle.
• Place heavy books all over the paper and allow the glue to dry for an hour.
• Cut the sheet vertically down the middle to create two equal halves.
• Based on the length of the halves, cut 4 strips of chart paper, 1 inch thick.
• Glue these strips on the top and the bottom of each of the halves, along the edge.
• Apply a little glue on the vertical edges of both halves and then roll the paper into a cylinder.
• Overlap the edges and glue them in place.
• You should now have two cylinders with chart paper strips on both the top and the bottom.
• Punch two holes opposite each other and tie twine or wire between them to create a handle.
• Hang these lanterns by the window to watch the leaves illuminated by the sunlight. Alternately, you can place them on a table with LED tea lights inside to illuminate them.