Floral Lantern Centerpiece Tutorial

Is it just me or is it TOUGH to find great looking centerpieces that still fit your party budget? For this month's Pinterest Challenge I created a floral lantern centerpiece for a Wonder Woman themed 40th birthday party to have maximum impact for minimum dollars. {You can read about why I ended up planning my OWN party here!}

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Summer Pinterest Challenge

Welcome to the June Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop, hosted by My Pinterventures! This month, I chose to create a budget friendly centerpiece. If you are new to the idea of a Pinterest Challenge, the idea is to not only pin great ideas, but actually MAKE them! I found this pin for a paper lantern centerpiece when searching for “budget friendly centerpiece ideas”. I loved the concept of these lanterns from Linen Tablecloth and went to work making it my own with a Wonder Woman theme.

Floral Lantern Centerpiece Supplies

Base supplies:

• 10″ Royal Blue Chinese lanterns: Amazon
• Gold Glitter paper: Amazon
• Floral Foam: Amazon {cut to fit}
• Floral Wire: Amazon
• Mini Hole Punch: Amazon
• 16 oz Plastic Cups: Amazon
• Scotch Tape

Pro Tip: When shopping for flowers you want the best quality you can get for the lowest price. I constantly shop Michaels end of season floral sales and pick up anything I might use at 60% {or more} off and often wait til I have an “additional 20% off your entire purchase” coupon. If you know you have a party coming up this year, pick a theme and start checking out the sales NOW. These flowers are actually from an after Christmas sale.

Floral Supplies:

• An assortment of quality artificial flowers & leaves: Michaels
  • Red Hydrengeas
  • Red roses
  • Gold rose
• Ribbon: Michaels
• A few accessories:
  • Alter Ego Eyeglasses: Cricut
  • Gold Superhero tiara: Oriental Trading

Step 1: Center Support

Ok, so I'll be honest and say that this was the step that was most tricky. Finding something that would fit inside the lantern was tough. I eventually opted for a plastic cup. I used a mini hole punch to create a hole on either side. Then threaded the wire through and attached it to the metal lantern form. Fill the bottom cup with floral foam and you're ready to go.

Step 2: Add Metal Form to Lantern – With Cup

Getting it INTO the lantern needs to be done slowly but it's possible. Just make sure you tuck the ends of the wire in so you don't tear holes in the paper as it goes in. I didn't get a shot of the top so you could see how it sits but the cup is just below the top opening.

Step 3: Add Flowers

Now you'll want to trim down your flowers and start adding them one at a time. I created a mini bouquet first to see how I wanted it to look so I knew where to place the flowers. This lantern takes 4 stems of large flowers to fill the opening. Although, if your flowers are smaller you will need additional stems.

Pro tip: If you are making several centerpieces please count up your stems and divide them evenly so you don't run out!

Step 4: Insert Greenery and Ribbon

You want to make sure the flowers are balanced and the top looks nice and full. Hydrangeas are great for filling up the space. Peonies, cabbage roses, and mums are also large blooms that make a statement. When you are happy with the flower placement, add a few greenery stems and ribbon accent. I just created a little accordion with the wired ribbon {similar in look to ribbon candy}, wired it together and trimmed the ends.

Having the flowers be slightly smaller than the widest portion of the lantern creates a great proportion. Allowing the leaves and ribbon to hang down aids in balance. I created this feathery accent using the gold leaves that came on the gold roses. Simply cut a portion of the leaf and snip it into strips. It reminded me of Wonder Woman's lasso of truth.

Step 5: Create a Base for Balance

You may notice the gold ring at the base of the previous photo. That's because THIS happens as you add the flowers. It's top heavy and will fall over. But a simple card stock ring allowed the lantern to sit straight.

I cut gold glitter card stock that matched the cupcake toppers into 1-1/2″ strips. a 2″ strip might even be better.

Then taped it and added another little bit of paper to the inside to help it hold the circle shape. Otherwise it just bends at the seam and creates a teardrop shape instead. Once taped in place, use your fingers to shape the reinforced seam into a nice smooth circle. You won't see the inside so it doesn't really matter that the words or tape are showing.

Step 6: Floral Lantern Centerpiece – Finishing Touches

Accessories have always been my favorite so adding the final touches to ANYTHING makes my heart happy. To showcase the Wonder Woman theme we added eye glasses cut on my Cricut Explore Air 2, and gold superhero tiaras from Oriental Trading.

It reminds me of a favorite quote from the new Wonder Woman movie by secretary Etta Candy,

Really, specs? Suddenly she’s not the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?”

Makes me laugh every time.

• You can snag the eyeglass file here!

Step 7: Set up the Table and HAVE FUN!!

The tables were beautiful with this floral lantern centerpiece but more importantly all the guests had a great time. See all the details and sources for this Classy Wonder Woman Party.

Wonder Woman is a great theme for little girls up to adult women. There's a universal appeal to the strength of women, the belief that peace is possible, and the power of love. For more great Wonder Woman party ideas we suggest some additional reading:

• Classy Wonder Woman Birthday Party Decor
• Wonder Woman Party Food
• Comic Inspired Wonder Woman Party Ideas

Until next time my friend,

To join next month's #pinterestchallenge, click here to sign-up ⇒ July Pinterest Challenge.

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Now let's see what other things Pinterest inspired! Head over and visit the other hosts to see what they crafted, cooked, built, or tried!

Erlene – My Pinterventures • Lauren – Mom Home Guide
Debbee – Debbee's Buzz • Laurie – My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies
Bri – Halfpint Design • Julie – Sum of their Stories
Lisa – Blogghetti • T'onna – Sew Crafty Crochet
Pili – My Sweet Things • Debra – Shoppe No. 5
Roseann – This Autoimmune Life • Terri – Our Good Life
Chelc – Inside The Fox Den • 
Leslie – Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Kelley – Simply Inspired Meals • Joanne – Our Unschooling Journey
Jenny – Cookies Coffee and Crafts • Gail – Purple Hues and Me
Beverly – Across the Boulevard • Habiba – Craftify My Love
Kristie – Teadoddles • Shirley – Intelligent Domestications
Kelli – The Olympic Nest • Lydia – Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen
Michelle – Our Crafty Mom • Emily – Domestic Deadline