Make a Paper Lantern Unicorn

3 Materials
$50
2 Hours
Medium

You can make a paper lantern unicorn like this one with my step by step tutorial! I used this for a party, but this would make a great decoration for the bedroom of any little girl who loves unicorns! You can see more of my crafts and creations here.

I began with this  36″ Nylon Lantern. I had purchased this for another project that never came to fruition, so this was the perfect occasion to use it. You can make this much smaller to fit any space you have or make several to decorate for a party.

I started with the easiest part of the project, the horn. I used a gold paper roll and rolled a large horn for my unicorn. Glittery paper cannot be taped securely, so I used my new Gorilla Glue glue gun and Gorilla hot glue sticks to secure the paper for my horn.  

I used a piece of black scrapbook paper, a chalk marker and a plate to get an idea of the shape for my unicorn’s eyelashes.  

I cut the eyelashes out of the black paper and glued them to the front of my lantern.  

Time for the hard part! I hung my lantern at a height where I could work on the top of it.  

Using a 10″ styrofoam cake dummy, I made a hole down the middle of it to prepare for attaching the ears, flowers and horn to my unicorn.  

I secured pipe cleaners through the hole I made in the center of my cake dummy with a piece of driftwood I had laying around for another project. This piece of styrofoam was now secure above the opening on the top of the lantern.  

Using a 36 inch long 1/2″ diameter dowel, I pushed it all the way through my styrofoam so that the end inside the lantern is resting against the far side of the lantern. That is necessary to support the unicorn’s horn. 

Simply slide the golden horn over the dowel and you begin to have something that looks like a unicorn!  

Two styrofoam triangles were cut to become ears. Later each of these would get a piece of the gold paper glued to them. I attached these with wooden skewers. Time to have fun adding the colorful florals to the top of my unicorn’s head. I used a steel pick machine to securely attach a variety of bold silk flowers to cover the styrofoam.

My unicorn is complete and ready to hang! What little girl wouldn’t love having this sweet thing hanging nearby? Whether for a party decoration or to adorn a child’s bedroom, a unicorn from a paper lantern is a fun and pretty addition!  I would love to have you stop by my blog,   Celebrate & Decorate for the full tutorial as well as sign up for my latest creations, posts, recipes, exclusives, and more...

Suggested materials:
  • Dowel Rod
  • Fabric Lantern
  • Gold Paper Roll
Chloe Crabtree
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  2 questions
  • Tinkerbellabell Tinkerbellabell on Jan 27, 2019

    This is so adorable and looks like a doable project for several age groups. Is there a way to roll up the eyelashes to make them curl up. I’m hoping to get one large one completed by this summer to welcome step daughter back fo summer visit. I saw smaller ones made using clear Christmasballs. You used clay, rolled it and then curled it up for Unicorn horn. Let it harden in oven rest the glue to clearly. Addeye she’s. I used real ones. Swirled pearl essence opaque paint inside ornament pour it out. Fill with glitter and you are done. I’m I took pictures of her quests and decoupaged on back of ornament. Not my ordinal idea but they loved it. Janice

  • Laura Laura on Jul 30, 2019

    Could you post a picture of it lighted and hanging? I suppose I'm having difficulty visualizing the finished product in her room.

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 8 comments
Next