Late last month, I saw a post on Instagram by fabulous wallpaper company Hygge & West (@hyggeandwest) about DIY paper lanterns made out of their wallpaper. I decided that I needed to know more. After stalking their website, I learned that they originally got the idea from Sweet Paul Magazine (@sweetpaulmagazine), where they made lanterns out of damaged book pages. I’m not very crafty but desperately want to be, so I decided to try to create a tablescape with lanterns. While this particular table is a bit more time-consuming to pull together than my other holiday table because you’re literally crafting the entire table, it’s so incredibly inexpensive. And, what I love about it the most is that, even if you don’t need this for your holiday table, these paper lanterns can work for basically anything. A baby or bridal shower. An outdoor party. Anything else celebratory.
I’m calling this The Bohemian Table because I imagine a bunch of fabulous-but-poor young people — likely working in design, or art, or fashion — living in whatever New York City neighborhood is currently up-and-coming but still undiscovered (read: somewhat seedy and inexpensive) by most New Yorkers. Unable to afford the ticket home for the holidays, they throw themselves a holiday potluck. And, being fabulous-but-poor, they pulled together a festive table with simple paper lanterns. Mismatched chipped plates from the local thrift store and cloth napkins made from ripped bed sheets adorn their table.
Below, I’m going to walk you through making the lanterns and putting together all of the various other items for my table. But, this table is meant to be a hodgepodge of stuff. Take whatever creative license you want with whatever you have because there’s no wrong way to do it. And, while the crafting did take time, it isn’t so laborious or difficult that you couldn’t do it while watching TV and drinking a glass (bottle?) of wine.
Crafting the Lanterns
These lanterns are a bit different than the Hygge & West and Sweet Paul ones because I’m using a thicker paper stock. Mine was Ella & Viv by Reminisce Spice Market scrapbook paper kit, purchased on Amazon. I just loved the Moroccan vibe of the of pattern and the variety of color. This also made it much easier, because I didn’t need to use anything to support the lanterns internally. If you are using wallpaper or wrapping paper, you’re going to need to follow their instructions (link to their posts above in the intro paragraph). But if you’re planning to use something like mine, which is more card stock than paper, continue here.
Your first lantern should be the simplest design so you can learn as you go. The papers I used were 12″x12″. I folded one in half, print side out, and simply cut strips into the fold. Instead of measuring it, I just allowed the patterns to dictate the width of each strip. Once you’ve cut equal-width strips the length of the fold, you’re going to unfold it, and then roll it up so that the strips are vertical. To close the lantern, you can certainly use tape, but I stapled it because the bold pattern of my paper hid the staples quite well. Staple the lantern together on each end so that the end strips overlap, and then staple the strips together above and below the fold.
Now, you have a lantern, but you’re not quite done. I added strips of other patterned paper from the kit on the top and bottom of the lantern. I think it just dresses it up and makes it look more finished. Then, I added a strip to the top inside hole of the lantern because, it hides the staples in the visible white inner part of the lantern. Use a strip of that same pattern to make a cute little handle on the top of the lantern.
Once you’ve done this one, you can cut a paper in half and make the same lantern on a smaller scale. You can play with how thick or thin you want the strips of paper. Once you’ve mastered that, move on to a new, intricate shapes. You can fold the paper into thirds with the print side out, and cut strips on both folds. Once you’re done, you’ll unfold and repeat the same steps as you did with the simpler lantern.
Here are a series of videos that show exactly what I did:
Creating the Table
I don’t want to spend too much time on the rest of the table because it should be dictated by what you have at home. I have an extra-long linen table runner from Crate and Barrel, so I threw it on that table, but instead of laying it flat, I had it drape around and under lanterns in a more casual way. I had paper left over so I cut the pieces into circular chargers for each place setting; I used a compass to make the circle, but if you don’t have one look for a bowl or something that has an approximately 12″ diameter and trace it. I had some pomegranates that I’ve been decorating with all December — you’ve probably seen them before — and placed them up and down the table. Then, I used those same Williams Sonoma melamine plates and Robert Welch flatware that I have in previous posts. Finally, I finished each place setting with West Elm cotton napkins and a simple bouquet of dried lavender, tied with some craft twine.
I love how this table came together, especially since I was so nervous that it wouldn’t. Let me know if you attempt a similar table!
