GSL Cuts: Festive lantern with Alicia Barry

I love decorating for the holidays. It is one of my favorite things to do. This year, I have been adding some handmade pieces to my collection. I recently created an Advent Calendar, which you can see here. I have made a pinecone wreath and I am working on a Santa sleigh table decoration. This week, I have created a pretty little lantern post decoration.

I started with the Gypsy Soul Industrial Lantern kit.

I covered the whole thing in black gesso. You will need to paint the inside as well, since you can see straight through the sides. I found it easier to do this first, before assembling.

I wanted my lantern to stand upright as a table decoration, so I created a stem from rolled up cardboard (paper town inner), and covered in black cardstock. I cut flaps into the top and hot glued it to lantern base, which I also covered in black gesso. I then stuck the stem into a floral foam base, covered in black cardstock. I painted the top of the foam in black gesso too.

Next, I wanted to create a decorative base for the lantern, so I layered two circular chipboard pieces. I covered them in white gesso, then glitter. Notice how I have used slightly different glitter on each piece, so they would stand out from each other, while still having a cohesive look. I adhered them with a thick layer of hotglue, to give a little dimension between the layers. I backed the base in black cardstock, to have a surface to adhere the lantern to.

I wanted to mimick the delicate design on the base, at the bottom of the layer, so I used a Wrought Iron border piece in a similar design, and just cut it to fit each side.

Then it was time to decorate. I applied texture paste with fine glitter to mimic snow, then embellished with tiny pinecones, flowers, leaves and some ribbon.