Medieval lanterns seem to have fallen into three broad categories:
- All metal with holes cut to let out light
- Wood and parchment
- Ceramic
Someday, I plan to make myself some of the second type. But on a tight time and money budget, I hit upon a way to make something using screamingly modern craft supplies that, at least at a glance, gives a similar impression to a lantern with parchment in lieu of glass.
These are very simple to put together and I don’t think the project ran me more thana few dollars per lamp. You don’t need any special skills or tools. While I think a true historical lantern is a much more worthy project, I suspect this simple DIY version is more in reach for many people; if you were going to bring a battery light, try this instead.
Gather materials:
The lanterns themselves and the scrapbooking vellum came from Craft Warehouse; I’m pretty certain they actually carry everything else shown here, but I was working out of my stash.
Picture tutorial:
Measure
Cut out 4 pieces of vellum for each lantern (you can easily get enough for two lanterns out of one piece of vellum).
Check fit
Paint glue on glass. I tested several different adhesives and ModPodge was easiest to work with and lest the fewest wrinkles.
Carefully place your vellum piece and smooth it out.
Repeat for each glass side.