Sometimes the best way to add a special touch to a party is with your very own style and design. Buying completed decorations for a party is what most people end up going towards but don’t be afraid to get creative with the items you purchase and put your own spin on things. Just because you order an item a certain way does not mean it has to stay the way it came. Plus, when you incorporate some DIY items into your party, you are able to have décor that is all your own and unique while keeping your total cost low.

The Necessities:

Here we are going to go over how to use white paper lanterns and multi colored party parasol food picks to create a cheap and easy do it yourself lanterns that can be interchangeable with many events and parties. The items that you are going to need for this do it yourself craft are some white paper lanterns and multiple boxes of the Party Parasol picks. The amount needed for both items is going to depend on how large of a party you plan on throwing and how you plan on using the lanterns. If you plan to use the lanterns as table centerpieces you will need a lot less supply versus if you plan to string and hang multiple of them as a banner. If you would prefer a color other than white for your lantern, you can certainly switch this up to fit your own personal style and taste.

How It's Made:

Since the lantern is made out of a taunt paper material the picks easily break through the tissue and stay propped in place. To make the item more durable and suitable for using more than once to keep your overall party budget low, the umbrellas can be glued in place with a hot glue gun to ensure none wiggle loose. Designing the picks layout on the lantern is a personal choice. Here we chose to keep the picks close together and overlapping to prevent any white from the lantern underneath from peeking through. You can choose to scatter the different colored picks to create more of a tie-dye effect like we did in this example or you can keep each color of pick clumped together in the same location to make more of a striped rainbow effect. The best part about this party idea is that is completely customizable to you specific party needs.

The Finished Product:

For this example we are going to use the multi-colored pick lanterns and pair it with a luau party as well as a fiesta. The umbrellas are made out of a thin tissue material and are lightly stamped with a floral design. The lantern itself is permeable to light allowing the rays of sun to seep through bringing the colors of the umbrellas alive in the hot, warm, breeze of a beach day. These are great to hang at a party entrance or to place at the base of a table to draw in color and design. The best way to get the full impact of color these lanterns have to offer is by stringing them like a banner and hanging them in the sunlight.

DIY Party Pick Lantern Ideas

There are many different Holidays and events this cheap and easy idea can cover. Try using only red and blue umbrellas for the 4th of July. Blue and yellow umbrellas would work nicely for a nautical party and the pink, yellow, and blue umbrellas would be perfect for welcoming in spring and summer. Using a mixture of all the pick colors fits nicely for a Day of the Dead celebration, a fiesta, Cinco De Mayo, and of course a Luau themed party!

When I look at the lanterns the first thing that comes to mind is tropical flowers. This party décor pairs nicely with some silk ‘n Petals big island leis and the assorted color artificial grass hula skits. Have party guest adorn a skirt and a lei and hula dance into the night with your lanterns swaying in the background. If the party needs to be moved indoors, add some more colorful touches with the Hibiscus clings. These clings are perfect for hanging on a window for the light to cascade through picking up the colors of pink, purple, and orange.

Another way these lanterns can fit into a Luau party, or even a nautical themed party, is by designing them to take on the look of a beach ball. To opt for this design, you are going to want to position the umbrellas in the lantern vertically from the top of the lantern to the bottom. Keep umbrellas of the same color grouped together to recreate beach ball stripes. To make each colored stripe stand out, make the stripes two umbrellas wide. When all the colors are added you are left with beach ball patterned lanterns!

Since this create your own lantern is inexpensive, easy to do, and is flooded with color, it fits nicely with a fiesta event as well. Have the lanterns strung like a banner and swaying above a crowd as the mariachi band plays their upbeat and festive music. To do this, you can keep with our theme of using a mixture of all the umbrella colors or you can make some lanterns sprinkled with certain of colors of your choice. Make some lanterns using all colors, some lanterns with just pink, orange, and yellow, and some lanterns with blue, pink, and orange. When hanging these slightly different, yet closely similar lanterns, you are able to really bring out the colorful aspect of what a fiesta is all about.

The Drop Fringe Garland and tissue flowers match perfectly with these one of a kind lanterns for a fiesta event. All three items paired together create stunning focal points and splashes of color for guests to talk pictures with and dance around. The drink umbrellas used in this project go hand in hand with taking swigs of tequila and dancing until the sun goes down.

For someone who does not call themselves an artist, taking on a do it yourself project can be a big mountain to climb. However, the money saving advantages will have your wallet thanking you. By buying items in bulk and dressing them up yourself, you get quality looking (and unique!) items without breaking the bank versus purchasing the items already complete. The best way to take on a project like this is to gather a team and work on crafting items for your celebration together. Have fun and see what ideas your team members bring to the table! Follow my blog with Bloglovin