Spruce up your home with some boho flair for less than $15, and in under an hour, with this trendy DIY lantern!
I’ve loved the look of the tall, slender bamboo lanterns for a long time!
Not only are they great for both indoor and outdoor settings, but they also add some fun style to an otherwise hard-to-fill space.
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If you’ve got a corner that feels empty, bust out one of these tall DIY lanterns and use it on the floor to fill that space!
My assistant Amber has tried hers on both her mantel and her front porch, and mine is sitting next to the loveseat on our backyard patio!
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How do you Make a Homemade Lantern?
Follow the tutorial below to make a fun homemade lantern for your home!
DIY Bamboo Lantern
For a printable copy of the materials and instructions, scroll down.
Materials Needed
- Two Packs of Bamboo Garden Stakes
- Two 6 Inch Embroidery Hoops
- Twine
- Handle (mine was off of a cheap Dollar tree basket, or you could remove a handle from a thrifted basket)
- Khaki Colored Spray Paint
Tools Needed:
How to Make a Decorative Bamboo Lantern
STEP 1: Cutting Bamboo
Using the cutters or shears, trim your bamboo stakes into 22 sticks, measuring 20″ in length.
For my lantern I used 21 bamboo sticks, however, the amount used will depend on the thickness of bamboo you have.
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STEP 2: Gluing bamboo to the hoops
For this step, you will only need the inside part of the hoops.
Take one of the bamboo sticks and glue it to the outside of your hoop.
We are starting with the bottom so you’ll want to be sure to keep the bamboo pieces even along the bottom.
You will now create your main “posts” for the lantern by gluing in another directly across the one you just glued.
Then again, two more, creating 4 “posts.”
Now, glue the top hoop on to the four bamboo sticks.
Choose the shortest stick to line up with for gluing the top, as some may be longer than others.
From here you will space the remaining bamboo sticks in between the main “posts” about 1/2″ apart.
Here, you can trim up any uneven pieces if you want, or leave it uneven to add character!
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STEP 3: Spray paint your lantern
Make sure you are in a well ventilated area for this step.
Attach your handle so it can be sprayed the same color.
I sprayed two coats on my lantern and that was perfect.
Feel free to have some fun with this step 😉
I chose to go with a natural, warm bamboo color, but you can spray it any color really!
Yellow, turquoise, or red would be fun pops of color for outdoors!
STEP 4: Wrap with twine
This step helps secure the bamboo even more and adds a fun texture!
First, remove your handle if you can, and cut two 4 foot pieces of twine.
Wrap the end around a piece of the bamboo and secure it with glue in the back.
Now, you will start the process of weaving the twine around each bamboo stick.
Continue wrapping the twine around until you get back to the first wrapped bamboo piece and secure the end with glue.
Trim off any extra twine.
Repeat this step along the bottom as well.
And there you have it! Now you have a beautiful bamboo lantern!
Doesn’t it look so pretty with a candle inside??
What is also so great about this lantern is you can use it indoors or outdoors!
As promised, here are the printable instructions:
DIY Bamboo Lantern
Create a trendy DIY lantern out of bamboo for under $15!
Materials
- Two Packs of Bamboo Garden Stakes
- Two 6 Inch Embroidery Hoops
- Twine
- Handle (mine was off of a cheap Dollar tree basket, or you could remove a handle from a thrifted basket)
- Khaki Colored Spray Paint
Instructions
- Cut 22 pieces of bamboo at 20" long.
- Using just the inside of the embroidery hoops, clue 4 bamboo stakes around the bottom hoop every quarter of the way around.
- Glue the same stakes to the top hoop and then fill in the remaining space with the additional bamboo stakes.
- Attach your handle and spray paint the entire lantern.
- Lace twine around the stakes where they're attached to the hoops (on both the top and bottom) and glue it in place.
- Place a pillar candle inside and you're done!
Notes
This lantern can be painted any color to match your style!
As always, let me know if you have any questions!
