Vintage Halloween Luminary/Lantern~

I had so much fun making this cute vintage Halloween Lantern. You want to make one? Well here's how!

Supplies-

1. Wooden Box (WalMart, JoAnns, Michaels) I found mine at WalMart. It came in a 3 pack!

2. Halloween scrapbook paper. (3 different vintage inspired prints)

3. Modge Podge and brush

4. Velum Paper

5. Jigsaw, drill and bit

6. Light

First draw out a rectangle on the front of your box for the lantern's opening. Leave a 1" allowance around your cut. Next take your drill with a bit and make a hole inside of the area you will be cutting out. This is where you can start cutting with the jigsaw. This will give you a starting point. Follow your lines until you have cut out your opening for the lantern. If you have any rough edges, simply sand them to make them smooth.

Next, find the center on the back of your lantern and draw a small rectangle. This will be the hole for the light. Because some lights are different sizes, be sure to fit the hole to the light you will be using. Mine has the metal clips that help it stay nice and snug in the hole. Cut the hole about 2.5" from the bottom. Begin by drilling a hole just like you did in the front of the lantern. Continue with the jigsaw of a large drill bit.

Next spray the inside of the box with flat Black paint. (Don't worry about doing the outside, it will be covered.)

After the paint has dried, measure and cut your paper to cover the lantern. It is best to do the front first. Use separate pieces around the cutout. (One for the top, one for the bottom and one for each side.) Be sure to wrap the paper around the inside of the cutout so that you don't see any exposed wood. Continue to cover the entire wood box including the lid. I chose to use one pattern on the bottom portion of the box and 2 separate designs on the lid.

Adhere the paper with Modge Podge. Using a foam brush, cover one area of the box at a time and place the paper on the glue. Be sure to smooth out the paper as you go. A little goes a long way! Be sure you cover the entire area and move quickly. Modge Podge dries really quickly! A credit card works great to smooth out the paper as you place it.
After the initial glue dries, cover the entire area with a top layer of Modge Podge. This will help protect the paper. Next go online and search for "Vintage Halloween Postcard." Look under images and you will find many to choose from. Save the picture to your computer and prepare it to be printed on Velum paper. It is best to measure your opening and do a practice print on regular paper to be sure you have sized your image properly. If you have Adobe Photoshop open your image and click on image size. It gives you the option to enter the size you want in inches!

I chose an image that was a bit lighter than I wanted it to be so I made it darker in a photo editing program. I printed out 2 images and placed them directly on top of each other to make the velum a bit more substantial and it also helped deepen the colors of the print! If you are happy with the color of your print it is not necessary to "print" 2 copies but I would recommend using 2 layers of the velum paper.

Cut out the image. Make sure to leave allowance around the print for gluing. Next, glue the velum to the INSIDE of the lantern's opening!

You can now place your light inside!

BOOTIFUL isn't it!
*Be sure you don't use a bulb that will get hot! I am using a 7 watt night light. If you are worried about heat do not put the lid on the box. It is cute w/out it as well. You can also drill a few holes in the back for better airflow.