How To Make Lantern Bases
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We provide lantern bases for the Bay
Area Peace Lantern Ceremony. However, we regularly receive inquiries
about how to make the bases, especially from organizers planning their
own lantern ceremonies in other areas.
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| We have constructed bases in different ways, trying where possible to use re-used/recycled materials. Some of them are made from re-used foamcore - the material on which panels are printed for displays, such as at conferences. Instructions for making foamcore bases are below. We have also used styrofoam squares. They must be thick enough to hold up the skewers - 1/2" or thicker is ideal. More recently, we've used household insulation sheeting that is about 1.5" thick and has silver paper laminated to each side. We cut into 10" squares, then tape around the edges with 3"-wide silver duct tape, making sure to adhere the tape thoroughly so it doesn't come off and water doesn't seep under it. How to Make Foamcore Bases: Our best results so far have been with foamcore (the kind of paper-covered plastic foam used for exhibition displays). We get used foamcore from a recycling store, blank on one side. Important: Test the printing by wiping with soap and water. Some displays are printed with water-soluble ink, which will come off in the body of water where the lanterns are floated. Those should be avoided. We cut thicker foamcore (1/2" or thicker) into 10" squares. If using thinner foamcore, we cut into 10" x 20" rectangles, then slice most of the way in the middle, leaving the bottom layer of paper intact. We then fold in half along the cut to make a 10" square that's two layers thick and held together by the paper layer on the inside of the fold. Thicker, single-ply is better, but the thicker foamcore is harder to find. We use thin wooden skewers (the kind you can buy for barbeque kebabs) to hold up the shades. One is poked through each corner, 5.5" apart. We have created some guide templates of cardboard with holes where the skewers go, to make it quick and easy to properly place the skewers. Best are skewers that are 12" or longer. We have our trained volunteers insert the skewers in the bases and then attach the shades that participants have decorated. We don't let young children handle the bases and skewers, because the points of the skewers sticking out the bottom of the bases may be hazardous. We've used a variety of other materials and methods for posts to hold up the shades, but the skewers are quickest, easiest, and may be least expensive. The Candles: We use tea candles in the centers of the bases. They are affixed one of two ways. We use thumbtacks with flat heads (and ideally with extra-long pins), with tea candles that come in their own aluminum cups. Remove a candle from its cup; put the cup on the center of the base; stick the tack downward through the middle of the cup and into the lantern base; then replace the candle in the cup. Another option is to put a dab of silicone sealant on the bottom of each candle, then stick it to the base. Allow several minutes to dry. The silicone-gel method works well (especially with candles that don't come in cups), but it is more complicated and takes longer, so for larger ceremonies (we launched about 500 lanterns in 2005) with untrained volunteers, it can be inconvenient. If you are planning your own peace lantern ceremony, please let us know when and where, and any Web link for your event so we may link to you from our pages. Thanks! |
Questions? Suggestions? Comments? Write to:
Lanterns-AT-ProgressivePortal.org
(change "-AT-" to "@")
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