Create your own Lantern Flower Arrangements

Lanterns are so popular and for good reason.  They are inexpensive, can be easily decorated and make a huge impact to your seasonal decor.   Today I am showing two fall lantern flower arrangements one in orange and one in neutral whites and greys.  Both of these lanterns are lit with electric candles that turn on by remote.  These “candles”  make me feel much more secure about adding fabric ribbons to any of the lantern surfaces.

I have arranged a multitude of different vignettes inside my lanterns,  A miniature  winter farm scene may be an idea for this Christmas but for fall the lanterns are being decorated on the outside.

Tutorial

Make the Bows

Decide what size you want your bows to be.  This will depend on the size of your lantern. These lanterns are 8 inches wide so the ribbons will be six inches.

Roll the ribbon into a six inch wide loops, do this six times creating six layers.

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Tie the ribbon in the center, I like to use raffia, but you can use ribbon or florist wire.
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Once the center is secure fluff the ribbon.  Pull one loop out and lift Up, pull the next loop out and pull Down.  Repeat for all loops
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If you prefer a video I illustrated how to do this same style of ribbon on a Christmas gift.

Attach Ribbons to Lantern

Wire your ribbons into place on your lanterns according to your preference.  In these examples, the orange lanterns ribbons were placed on opposite sides.  When the lanterns are put together the two arrangements meet together in the center as a focal point.

For the white lanterns, the ribbons were attached with wire on the same side of each lantern so there is no central focal point.

Add the Flowers

Build the floral arrangements in groups of threes based on a visual triangle.  I have started a triangle using the ribbon and then the two large red flowers.

You can add extra elements building the triangle outwards.   Here I have added the orange flowers to the top and side, the bottom of the triangle is lengthened with the raffia tails.

Continue adding other elements anywhere you want more height or width.   The hint is to do it in threes if you add to one side add to the others to keep your arrangement balanced.  
Once the triangular arrangement is the way you like it,  add a focal point to give depth to the arrangement.

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The Neutral Lanterns

Although these lantern flower arrangements look very different the process is basically the same.

The white lanterns are much larger than the oranges lanterns.   Create bows the same way but each lantern gets two ribbons.   This keeps the loops from being too long and floppy.

For the larger lanterns, I chose larger blossoms but still built the arrangements in triangles.

Filling the Lanterns

With an elaborate arrangement on the outside of the lantern its better to place a simple vignette within the lantern.    Something simple like electric no flame candles.  If you choose to do real candles I recommend not lighting them and maybe wrapping some tiny lights around the candles instead.

If you like what you see please Pin it for me.