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Paper Lantern Goldfish Tutorial

October 30, 2012 By Jelli 11 Comments

paper lantern goldfish tutorial

My little girl loves her three paper lantern goldfish. Originally a part of her goldfish themed first birthday party décor inspired by this, these bright round-bellied fish now “swim” in her room, suspended from the ceiling. Summer Elizabeth is full of curiosity these days, pointing at everything she sets her eye on. Every single time she catches a glimpse of her orange google-eyed goldfish friends, the index finger juts right out and she grins wide, hoping we’ll lift her high to touch them.

Since these fish are such a hit at our house, I figured that they’d probably make a splash at yours too, so I’ve put together a quick tutorial for making your own paper lantern goldfish. You can get really creative with this, making a whole sea of creatures: whales, dolphins, octopi, etc. Have fun with it! You’ll really be delighted to see your child’s face light up.

paper lantern goldfish diyWhat you’ll need:

12” 1 orange paper lantern

1 1/8” set of large googley eyes

orange scrapbook paper/cardstock

clothes hanger

hot glue gun/ liquid silicone

fishing line (to hang)

Instructions

Open up your lantern to make it round. Hang lantern from the neck of a clothes hanger and suspend hanger on the back of a kitchen chair or wherever is comfortable for you to work.

Draw the tail of the goldfish on a piece of scrap paper until it suits you or download this tail I made. Cut out the tail and trace onto orange cardstock. Cut out your tail. Make a short fold along the edge where we’ll attach the tail to the lantern. Cut a small slit in the middle of the folded edge, creating 2 tabs for gluing. This will help it flex back and forth, and ultimately make gluing it in place a whole lot easier. Using hot glue or liquid silicone, glue tail in place. Hold it down for a few seconds, putting pressure on the seam from the inside of the lantern.

paper lantern goldfish tail

Take a good look at your lantern both up close and from a distance to determine where you’d like to place the eyes & then glue them in place.

Use fishing line or other transparent string to hang your colorful paper lantern goldfish. Be prepared to take orders from friends who will want one of their very own. You’ve been warned.

 photo jellisigtextpng_zpsa983b4e7.png
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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: birthday, Crafty, giveaway, Inspiration

About Jelli

Jelli is a blogging veteran and avid baker who’s been selling sweets to feed her chocolate addiction for 8+ years. When the polka dotted apron’s hanging up, she’s a full-time mama to three kidlets enjoying the crazy days of motherhood and pumping out brownie recipes from her sunny Costa Rican kitchen.

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Comments

  1. Bre @ Peacoats and Plaid says

    October 30, 2012 at 9:07 pm

    First of all, that is such a cute and easy idea! Love it! Second, I decided to enter your giveaway while I was here 🙂 Followed all of you lovely ladies via the various methods.
    Thanks so much for linking up with the GFC Collective, hope you acquired some new followers!
    Bre @ Peacoats and Plaid

    Reply
  2. Christine Wright says

    October 30, 2012 at 9:30 pm

    Thank you for this opportunity, Jelli! I love reading your blog, and I’m excited to meet and follow several other cool bloggers!

    Christine

    Reply
  3. Tulip TrueAim says

    October 31, 2012 at 10:51 am

    I’m following on Twitter!

    Reply
  4. Tulip TrueAim says

    October 31, 2012 at 10:52 am

    I followed it’s a long story on FB

    Reply
  5. Tulip TrueAim says

    October 31, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Followed GHoth on twitter

    Reply
  6. Tulip TrueAim says

    October 31, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Followed Inked in Colour

    Reply
  7. Tulip TrueAim says

    October 31, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Followed A Day in the life and retweeted!

    Reply
  8. Debra Kapellakis says

    October 31, 2012 at 11:46 am

    I have a weakness for goldfish this is cute.

    Reply
  9. Mel@Mellywood's Mansion says

    November 1, 2012 at 2:41 am

    That’s fantastic. I love it pinning it.

    Reply
  10. Lisa @bitesforbabies says

    November 1, 2012 at 10:03 am

    Very cute idea! I don’t think I could be that crafty! lol!

    Reply
  11. Lisa/Fresh Eggs Daily Farm Girl says

    November 3, 2012 at 9:20 am

    Adorable ! Please come share: http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/11/farm-girl-blog-fest-7.html

    Lisa
    Fresh Eggs Daily

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Jelli! I snagged the best guy around, birthed four tiny kidlets, scribble down too many dessert recipes, love Jesus, and grow veggies in my front yard. Read More…

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