As it is Chinese New Year on the 22nd of January 2023, I thought that it would be a great time to make a corrugated cardboard Chinese lantern. My cousins husband is Chinese and they celebrate Chinese New Year, so I wanted to make them something as a gift with their two children. They are really excited to give this to their Mum and Dad.

You need very few craft materials to make it, but it is really pretty. My husband and myself are helping them to make it as they are quite young and a sharp knife is involved, so my husband did most of the cutting work, but the kids sprayed it with gold spray paint.

Let's start making our cardboard Chinese lantern. Start by using the width of the ruler as a spacer (which should be around 3cm) to draw some vertical lines across the length of the corrugated cardboard.

Then, again using the ruler as a spacer, cut horizontal slits across the width of the corrugated cardboard, alternating between the columns starting from one in from the edge. Then move the ruler downwards, one width at a time, and continue cutting the slits until you reach the bottom.

Next, cut through the remaining uncut rows in the same way, except starting with the ruler at a halfway drop down, so that these slits fall halfway between the first slits that you made. Continue until you reach the end of the cardboard.

Now, get some scrap paper to cover your worksurface, they spray the smooth side of the corrugated cardboard with the gold spray paint. I would recommend doing this in a well ventilated area.

Next, turn the carboard back over and weave all except one skewer in and out of the slits in the carboard. Let around 2.5cm stick out at one edge to create a stand for the cardboard Chinese lantern.

Then trim the last column to within 1cm of the slits to avoid the seam becoming too bulky.

Finally hold the two joining edges together so that they overlap slightly. Make sure that the smooth gold surface is on the inside. Then weave the final skewer through to hold the join in place.