Diwali or Deepavali is the festival of lights where people meet and greet their relatives, exchange sweets, enjoy together and of course; it is the time to showcase exquisite decorative pieces. Traditionally, people hung a kandeel outside their house which showcased that brightness always overcame shadows and good will always be superior to evil. Buying a lantern from the store can be very easy but buying your very own personalized one can hold much more meaning. It is a sustainable, budget friendly and very easy way to decorate your house.
Materials You Need
Recycled materials are important to use because they are environmentally friendly as they decrease the requirement for new raw materials and in turn, reduces the amount of waste being produced. Moreover, it is cost effective for you as these items can be easily found at home. It will make you think outside the box and make you ecologically conscious. Some common materials that you need include old newspapers, wrapping paper, cardboard box, DVD, tin cans, scraps of fabric, old greeting cards, toilet paper rolls, thread spools, bottle caps, stiff paper from old registers, glue, a pair of scissors, tape, string or thread, stapler, hole punch, paints, markers, crayons and a safe LED tea light or bulb.
Paper Lantern
In order to make this, choose a colorful page from a magazine which has a glossy look. Fold the page in half. Cut slits from the folded edge towards the open edge. You need to stop about an inch from the top. Space the slits about two centimeters apart. Then you require to curve it into a cylinder by getting the shorter edges together and securing them with glue or a stapler. Then slightly press to give the lantern its original shape by fanning out the slits. Attach the strip of paper across the top as a handle. Also, you can use a string to hang it. Moreover, if you want it to glow, you can adjust an LED light by putting another rolled paper tube in the lantern.
Bottle Lanterns from Plastic Waste
These lanterns are resistant to weather and are suitable for outdoor lighting. You require plastic bottle of one or two liters. Wash and dry the plastic bottle thoroughly. Cut open the top third of the bottle so that you have a proper base. You need to make vertical slits across the remaining part of the bottle from the cut edge towards the bottle. Make sure that you do not cut all the way through. Slightly press down so that the slits fan out. You can either paint the bottle or decorate it with old wrappers so that it shines. Add a small LED tea light inside. Use a string to hang it from a tree or porch.
Cardboard Box Lantern
You can create this lantern by using old packaging or a cereal box. You need to cut out shapes from the sides of the box like the shapes of diyas or stars or lotuses. From the inside, you need to glue the plastic sheets or colored cellophane behind the cut outs. You have to paint or decorate the box as per your choice. Make a hole on the top so that you can insert a bulb if you want it to glow. Make tiny holes at the corners so that you can put a string for hanging.
In conclusion, these lanterns will help you to brighten up your Diwali and reuse your waste products in a sustainable way which will overall have a great impact.
Author
Shreeja Mukherjee