Lavender Lantern
By: Mary Kaye Seckler

Materials: 2 pieces 8 1/2” X 11” Kromecoat paper 2 pieces lavender cardstock Various lavender fibers 30” in length Various silver charms 1 ea 1” round wooden disc 1 large decorative bead 1 small Asian coin Items needed to complete the project: Kaleidacolor Inkers: Cupid Pink, Peony Pink, Garnet, Eggplant, Mulberry Versamark ink Brilliance Graphite Black Bone folder Rubber brayer Uninked felt stamp pad PVA glue, glue brush Scissors

Instructions: Cut the cardstock and paper in half to form sheets 5 1/2 ” X 8 1/2” in size. Fold the cardstock in half to form sheets 5 1/2” X 4 1/2”. Bone folder flat and set aside. (I recommend a Teflon bone folder because it will flatten even the most expensive cardstocks and handmade papers without leaving a shiny mark or smearing artwork. Indispensable!)   To prepare the art papers, first make a custom stamp pad by putting several drops of each of the reinkers on a blank stamp pad. Set aside for a moment.   Lay the first Kromecoat paper horizontally in front of you on scratch paper or waxed paper to protect your work surface. Using Versamark ink, stamp various detail stamps on the paper in the following pattern: centered on the vertical halfway line (at 4 ”) and centered on the vertical 1/2” and marks 1/2” (at 2 1/8” and 6 3/8”).   Using a brayer, apply the ink from the stamp pad you made onto the paper. The Versamark will resist the dye-based ink and you will have a shadow. Because the pad you made was not solid, you will get an unusual mottled background instead of just a solid color.   Keep adding color and brayering over the surface until the background is a deep solid color. Add a few stamps over the paper in Brilliance ink. (I chose black.)   Heat set with a heat tool to speed the drying process if you wish. Repeat this three more times for a total of four pieces of art.   To prepare the pop-ups, begin by folding the first sheet in half to form a sheet 4 1/2” X 5 1/2”.   Fold each of the two side flaps toward the middle fold to make a four-panel accordion. Refold the paper in half so that the art is on the outside of the fold.   Make a cut on the fold at the top and bottom of the Versamark image you stamped. Cut to the edge of the design – the two cuts should be about the same length.   Now fold the paper back to the edge of the cuts and flatten the fold with a bone folder. Bend it back the opposite way and repeat with the bone folder.   If you open the fold up all the way, you will notice that you can take the section that you cut and folded and pop it the opposite way as the main fold.   Repeat this procedure with the images on the other two folds in the panel. Since those folds go the opposite way as the main fold, the images will also pop the opposite way. This will make for some interesting imagery.   Repeat this procedure for the other three panels, varying the spacing and shapes of the images you stamp and cut on the folds. In some cases, you can even cut and fold an image within a fold and have it pop the opposite way as the fold it’s on.   When you finish all four panels, you are ready to assemble your lantern. Begin by applying a very light coat of PVA glue (use a damp brush to get a thin coat) to the two side flaps of the first four-panel accordion.   Do not apply glue to the part of the panel that pops forward. Adhere that flap to the corresponding edge of the first lavender folder.   Repeat for the other side of the first panel. Repeat that procedure with the other three panels. Now you have four pop-up folders that you need to assemble.   First, prepare the fibers that the lantern will hang from.   First take the wooden disc and drill a 1/8” hole in the center of it with a Dremel tool. Put a drop or two of Eggplant reinker on a paper towel and dab it on the disc.   The decorative bead I used was a wooden bead with a large hole in it. I glued the bead onto the disc using Tombo mono adhesive. I glued the coin onto the top of the bead with the same glue. Give that assembly some time to dry completely.   Take the sturdiest fiber you have (preferably a ribbon) and cut off 6”. Make a loop and tie off the open end with an overhand knot. Take the rest of the fibers and fold the bundle in half. Loop one end of the fibers through the ribbon loop and pull until you are at the midpoint of the fibers.   Using a bead threader (a dental floss threader available at the supermarket works very well), thread the short ribbon that holds the fiber bundle through the bead assembly from the disc up through the coin.   The bundle will not go through the disc since it is so large, so it will make the perfect stopping point for the ribbon hanger. Set this aside until you have three panels glued together.   Apply PVA glue to one half of the back of one of the lavender cards. Leave about a half inch on the card near the center fold without glue as this space will have to accommodate the fibers. (At this point you will want to make sure all of your pop-ups are facing the same direction so you don’t glue any upside down.)   Adhere the panel to one of the other panels, taking care to line up the edges of the card. Repeat for the next two pop-up cards, leaving a half inch space near the center fold on each one.   Before you apply glue to the last panel, insert the fiber assembly into the center of the cards so that the disc is resting on the top of the cards.   Adhere the final pop-up, one side at a time until the lantern is complete. Dab a bit of Multi adhesive on the top of the cards underneath the disc so that the disc is glued to the cards. Tie charms to the ends of the fibers. Hang your lantern and enjoy!