Hi everyone! Bet you thought I fell into a hole somewhere. Nah, just job hunting now that I’m done with school. Anyone want to hire me? :) Anyway, I attended the San Francisco International Gift Fair last Saturday, and I ran across these flower-covered paper lanterns at the zappobz booth. I begged to take a picture so you can see them. I still like mine best, but I thought the bright colors were fun too. By the way, my favorite booth at the fair was roost. Love, love, love their stuff.

I planned to make a flower-covered paper lantern for months. Not until I found a white poinsettia garland at a Michael’s after-Christmas clearance did it become a reality. Normally, I’m not a fan of fake flowers, but I think this is a great way to use them. I had some leftover pom-pom fringe, so I festooned the second lantern with pom poms. Now I can’t decide which one I like best. I bought these white 12-inch paper lanterns at Ikea years ago. Raise your hand if you hate the cheap white paper lanterns that Ikea and World Market sell these days. Me too.

Paper lanterns, two ways: flowers and pom poms

Supplies and tools

• white paper lantern and cord kit (try this one or this one)
• hot glue gun and glue
• fake flowers
• scissors
• pom-pom fringe
• compact fluorescent light bulb

Flower-covered lantern:

1. Start by removing the flowers from the garland, remove the plastic pieces, and tear the petals apart (some are hot glued together).

2. Then cut the pom poms off the fringe. You can also buy loose pom poms, but I liked these off-white ones better than the white ones they sell loose.

3. Hot glue the flowers and pom-pom centers onto the lantern. Glue them so they overlap to cover the entire paper surface. The garland I used provided just enough flowers for one 12-inch paper lantern. This one required two 4-foot spools of pom-pom fringe.

4. Insert the cord kit and hang from the ceiling. If you use a compact fluorescent light bulb, you’ll never have to worry about the hot glue melting.

Pom-pom lantern:

1. Apply a thin line of hot glue along the paper lantern’s ridges, a few inches at a time. Adhere the fringe to the glue, then repeat. DO NOT follow the ridge all the way around because the frame is constructed as a spiral, so your ends will never meet. So, when you get six or so inches from the end, start directing the line to connect to where you started. I spaced each line of pom poms six lines apart. This one required three 4-foot spools of pom-pom fringe.

2. Insert the cord kit and hang from the ceiling.

I’ve been dying to try drilling pumpkins for two years, and I finally did it. It’s fun, but after drilling three pumpkins, my hand got tired from holding the drill. But it was worth it. Those daisies are sitting in a jar full of water inside the pumpkin. How, then, did I light the pumpkin, you ask? Glow sticks. Lots of them. Click here for last year’s pumpkin carving ideas. BTW: These would also make a great holiday centerpiece.

Drilled pumpkins

Supplies

• pumpkins
• glow sticks (see note in #9 below. I used 12-hour Cyalume Safety Lightsticks from Redwood Trading Post)
• flowers (I recommend daisies or another long-lasting flower)
• painter’s tape
• votives
• glass jar

Tools

• drill
• drill bits (I used these sizes: 3/16, 1/4, 7/16)
• scissors
• carving knife
• scooping spoon

1. Decide what pattern you want to drill into each pumpkin. You could use a marker to plan your pattern. Start drilling. For the small pumpkin, I used a 7/16 bit for the centers of the flowers, and a 1/4 bit for the petals.

2. Use your fingernails to remove little flaps of pumpkin still attached. For the medium pumpkin, I used 7/16 and 3/16 bits. This was the easiest pattern to execute, because all you have to do is follow the ridges of the pumpkin.

3. Use tape as a guide for horizontal patterns. For this one, I used 7/16 and 3/16 bits.

4. After you’ve drilled all the patterns, clean off the loose pieces of pumpkin.

5. Carve the lids out and scoop out the insides. Run the drill bits through the holes again, if necessary, to clear out pumpkin debris.

6. For the pumpkin with flowers in the top, place a jar of water inside the pumpkin. Replace the lid.

7. Drill holes in the lid for each blossom. Make sure they are angled toward the water jar. Cut all your stems the same length and strip off the leaves.

8. Insert a flower in each hole, making sure the stem is sitting in the water.

9. Light your pumpkins. I used votives in the two smaller pumpkins, and about six glow sticks in the one with the flowers. Six lightsticks weren’t as bright as a single votive (orange or green are brighter than white), so I would recommend drilling a more intricate pattern to let out more light. If you use a votive, I suggest removing the lids—unless you want charred pumpkins.