Halloweeeeeeen~

~is my favorite holiday but I never seem to have time to prepare for it buuu~~ (´∩｀。)

Today, besides finally buying candy (are there even any kids in our neighborhood? I've only seen maybe one), I took some junk and some other junk and put them together into decorative junk. I also took pictures, because I wanted to know exactly how serious the camera was when it said "battery low". Not very serious, apparently.

One nice part about this particular junk+junk=thing project is that it's impermanent. That is, you can get the glass forms back when you're done. Or, if you prefer, you can make them permanent with a simple trade of adhesives. 

Too Easy Halloween Lantern Tutorial

extremely, super, little-kid-doable easy

Materials

  orange tissue paper

  opaque black paper (or any dark color, really)

  glass jars, bowls, cups, or what have you

  scotch tape

  ponytail bands (or rubber bands)

  scissors

  spray adhesive (optional, only for permanent lanterns)

Cut up your black paper into jack-o-lantern eyes, moths, noses, or whatever Halloweeny shape you want. Consider the shape and size of your glass objects when you do this.

Tape your paper pieces to the surface of your glass objects. Most types of scotch tape can easily be peeled off of glass, but if you have to be sure that there won't be any stickiness left on your glass, use "magic" type tape. Don't worry that you can see the tape; when the lanterns are lit, taped areas become indistinguishable.

Now we wrap the glass forms in a sheet of tissue paper. If your form has straight, parallel sides, like a jar, you can just wrap it in a sheet...

...tape the bottom edges under the jar...

...and put a hairband around the rim to hold the sheet in place. 

Done.

If you're using a round shape, just set it in the center of a sheet of paper...

...wrap the paper up around it, gently, and stuff the loose ends into the top of the jar to hold them up...

...then secure with a hairband around the rim, trimming away extra paper from the opening. 

Done again.

Lastly, if your glass form is shaped such that it can't be banded at the top, you can either improvise with tape around the edges, or use the secret weapon of papercraft: adhesive spray.

 Boom.

Warning: Adhesive spray (spray mount, spray gum, aerosol glue, etc.) is very sticky and will make your paper-to-glass bond pretty damn near permanent. Re-positionable (impermanent) spray adhesive exists, but it is also awfully sticky, and does indeed become permanent on whatever surface it is originally applied to. As with all spray cans, use in a well-ventilated area.

Another Warning: Always protect work surfaces with scrap paper when using spray adhesive, unless you want a gummy table. No-one wants a gummy table, though. Gummy tables suck.

If using spray adhesive, first invert your glass form in the middle of a sheet of tissue paper. Then, spray the ever-loving hell out it. 

Okay, maybe not that much. Just get an even coat of spray on glass and tissue alike. 

Now, very carefully, turn your glass right-side up in the middle of the sheet, being careful not to let the gummy tissue touch the gummy glass, otherwise they'll fall in love IMMEDIATELY and stick like happy ever after. Guess what I did when trying to turn my glass over...  yeah.

Once your glass is right-side up, lift up the paper on all sides and wrap it around the glass. It'll stick real tight, real fast, and make a wrinkly effect. Pat it down to flatten it out.

Lastly, cut away the extra paper from the opening of the glass. Voila.

Add tea candles, display on Halloween night. Or be a dork and use them for mood lighting in the bathroom. Like me. :3

Guess where this picture was taken.

As always, have fun, and Happy Halloween! ハロウィーンおめでとう、たのしみして！

Merry and Bright

明けましておめでとうございます！

An auspicious new year to you and yours. ^_^

I would really like to thank all the folks who've been following this blog for whatever reason. I hope you aren't disappointed when the posts are few and far between or when they're weird. It's my sincerest wish to improve the quality and frequency of updates to Shishi Girl (and maybe explain why it's called what it is) in the coming year. よろしくおねがいします!

And now, BACK TO WORK MAKING STUFF!

We are currently in the midst of a strange period of time between two calendars: the Gregorian calendar, which dictates that the new year has begun, and the Chinese calendar, which pokes the Gregorian calendar hard in the ribs and gives it the look that says "not yet, idiot."

Eh-hem.

That is to say, for a few more weeks, the world will be at odds over what year it really is. For those among you who were too jetlagged from Christmas to enjoy the Eve celebrations (or if you drunk yourself into an early bedtime), this is good news. You have another New Year's Eve to enjoy! January 26th, save the date. And maybe make some Asian lanterns in the meantime.

For those who prefer hammer, nails, and metal to paper and glue, there is the good ol' tin can lantern. Here is what they look like, and how to make them

Tin Can Lantern Tutorial

You need:

cans
nails and/or tin punches
hammer
wire or string
tea lights (or any short, fat candle)

1) Get some tin cans together. If you have one of those safety-lid can openers that pry off the lid without sharp edges, try to use that for the opening of cans you intend to make lanterns from. Larger soup cans, baked bean cans, etc. are good; small coffee cans are even better. Cans that have a white or shiny reflective surface on the inside tend to make brighter lanterns.

1.5) Eat whatever good things are in the cans, then wash them out. Of course.

2) Fill the cans with water and put them in the freezer. Leave the water level about 1cm below the top so the ice will have some expansion room. The ice in the cans keeps them from denting in while you punch holes in step 3.

2.5) If you have a design in mind, draw it on the outside of the can with a marker so you can follow it later. Or just wing it, like I always do. XD

3) Punch holes through the frozen can with a hammer and nails. Make sure you're doing this in a safe place, like outside or somewhere that you won't accidentally hammer into the floor. Also, don't hurt yourself. Please. If you have or can borrow a metal punch, it makes the process much easier. You can make big holes with the punch, or tap it once to mark out dents that will settle the nail in place on the surface of the can, so it's not slipping around on the metal. Don't forget to punch two holes opposite from each other near the top rim of the can so that you can hang it.

4) Light 'em up. Put candle in the bottom of each lantern and hang it with a length of string or wire. I prefer wire because there's no fear of it burning if the flame gets too high.

I love these for Halloween because you can hang them in the trees where little candy-hunting kids won't accidentally knock them over or get too close and set their costumes on fire.

Unburnt children are always preferable to burnt ones. :D

More lantern patterns and tutorials on the Internet:

Cylindrical Harlequin-fold Lantern and another tut for the same shape
Indian Party Lantern (kinda similar to the Korean lantern)
Reverse-fold Lantern
Round Harlequin-fold Lanterns