These DIY pumpkin paper lanterns fill the room with a haunting, cozy light, setting the scene for a festive October. I love the old fashioned feel of them, their oversized look, and the variety of orange hues.
When I first thought of decorating paper lanterns like jack-o’lanterns, I thought I had a truly original stroke of genius. But, I definitely did not, as there are tons of pre-made pumpkin paper lanterns and DIYs out there already. Oops! I actually browsed some to purchase before deciding to make my own after all. And I’m glad I did, because I really had a lot of fun doing this project. I hope you will too!
Someday when our back yard is remodeled, I’d like to hang a bunch of giant jack-o’lantern paper lanterns outside for a party. How magical would that be?
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DIY Pumpkin Paper Lantern Lights Materials
- LED string lights
- Lights with hook clips at the top, like these (pictured below this list), are best for hanging paper lanterns from.
- The lights linked are really long, so I ended up adjusting the wires to make them shorter, which worked great (instructions on that in the next section).
- 6” paper lanterns
- I purchased mine in packs of 5 from The Paper Lantern Store in papaya, orange, and persimmon (pictured below this list.)
I got them in two different ribbing styles, some are crisscross and some are even.
- I purchased mine in packs of 5 from The Paper Lantern Store in papaya, orange, and persimmon (pictured below this list.)
- Pencil
- Fine tipped black sharpie
- Classic black sharpie
How to make DIY Pumpkin Paper Lantern Lights for Halloween
- Practice drawing jack o’lantern faces on scrap paper to decide on designs for your lanterns.
2. Assemble the lanterns, and note that the front of the lantern is the side where the metal crossbar points forwards. This is the side you’ll want to put your face on.
3. Draw the face onto the lantern with a pencil.
Try to draw lightly, as the pencil can puncture the lantern is you press too hard.
4. Next, trace over the pencil with a fine tip sharpie.
Be careful of places where you need to draw over the ribbing and use a very light touch with the sharpie. (I ended up skipping over the ribbing entirely during the first pass, and then lightly going over the ribbed areas last.)
5. Last, use a classic sharpie to color in the design.
It took me about 20 minutes to finish each lantern, about 4 hours total for 12 lanterns.
6. Attach the lanterns to the string lights.
The lights I used have very long wires, so I looped the excess wire into the inside of the lanterns…
…and clipped the wire onto the light.
The lanterns may slide around on the wire a little while they’re being handled, but stay in place once they’re still.
That’s it! Hang the lights and enjoy the glow. Happy Halloween!
