Make a Sky Lantern

 

The sky lantern was first used by the Chinese in the third century as a signaling balloon in warfare. Throughout the ages, its military application evaporated and it evolved to take important roles in Chinese and Thai cultural rituals. Used in numerous festivals year-round, today sky lanterns often signify good luck or new beginnings. Our favorite Western adaption of this is to write love messages inside them and set them afloat. Yes, if mis-used, they can be a fire hazard. But a Chinese sky lantern is quite easy to make. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be releasing your request of choice to the universe in a flash.

Materials

There are many different ways to make one of these flaming love balloons, but I went with the simplest possible method, using easily-available components that you should be able to get at your local craft store. Here's what you'll need:

• Tissue paper
• Glue
• A ½ inch artist’s paint brush
• Thin wire
• Birthday candles
• A bamboo or balsa wood hoop (or equally light alternative)
• Scissors
• An X-acto knife
• Wire cutters

I also ended up using old newspaper, a tape measure and a ball-point pen. Other optional items include watercolors and brushes, an 80’s-era boombox playing The Greatest Hits: Power Ballads on CD, and a bottle of sake.

Building the Balloon

Cover your work surface with plastic to avoid future unneeded backlash from the person to whom you are dedicating your balloon.
Next, take four pieces of large tissue paper. I used sheets that were 20” x 24” for my first attempt, but the final product proved too heavy, so the next time I cut these into 12” x 20” and went from there. Fold them in half, length-wise. Trace half of a bell pattern on the top sheet, from the bottom with an opening that is 1/8 the circumference of your hoop. (four sheets will go around the circumference, you’re tracing half of one of those sheets, hence the 1/8 figure) all the way to a point at the top. Cut out your shape.

Unfold the tissue paper. You should now have four large bell-shaped tissues.

 

This is probably the best time to write messages of love, wishes of prosperity, or angry political slogans on your balloon. Since tissue paper is so fragile, your best bet is to use watercolors to speak your mind.
Once your wit and wisdom is dry, pour some schoolhouse glue into a container and thin it with water. Lay the first sheet of tissue on your work surface message-down and with the paintbrush, spread your watered-down glue all the way along one edge. Lay a second sheet on top of the first, gluing them together along one side.
Lay a newspaper over the glued half and fold the top sheet over. Then spread glue along the new side, lay a third sheet atop the second. Repeat the process with the fourth, then fold the forgotten half of the initial sheet over and glue it to the fourth sheet.
Let everything dry for a few hours. After a time, you may need to come back and glue the top of your bell to ensure that you have a completed balloon that is only open at the bottom.
NOTE: Some suggest that you treat your tissue with a flame-retardant spray and hang them overnight before cutting out your pattern and starting the process. This is a great idea, but flame-retardant spray is hard to find except over the Internet, so I omitted this step. I didn’t flame-proof my balloon, and it did not catch on fire.

Attaching the Hoop

Now that your balloon is drying, you need to create something to attach it to. I took the inner ring of an embroidery hoop and used an X-acto knife to dissect it in half (so it would weigh even less). You can also use balsa wood, a bamboo hoop, or even tape a series of straws together. However you get your stable, lightweight ring is up to you.
Next, wrap one end of a wire around the ring, string it across, wrapping it around a cluster of birthday candles (I used four), then affix it to the other side of the ring, holding the candles in place in the middle. Take a second wire and do the same perpendicular to the first, also wrapping it around your candles, so that you end up with a wire cross in the center of the hoop with candles snug in the middle.

Once you have your finished hoop and your dry balloon, glue them together. Let it dry. Have some sake and enjoy the musical stylings of Whitesnake while you wait.

Flame on!

Now you’re ready to fly. Carefully take your creation to your launch facility. You may need to pre-inflate your balloon before lighting your candles, so use a blow dryer on low to blow hot air through the hoop, inflating the balloon.
Once you have room, carefully light your candles, which will continue to fill the balloon with hot air, and lift your sky lantern high into the air for all to see.
To be environmentally considerate, tie fishing line to the wire, so that your balloon does not float off into some farm field or down someone’s chimney. As soon as the candles die, the air within the balloon will cool, and your lantern will drift to the ground. If you’ve got it on the end of a fishing line, you can reel it in as it descends and reuse it another time if it hasn’t burnt up.


Happy Floating!