Table of Contents
Introduction – how the idea for the miniature lanterns for Barbie came
In the last years I’ve done a lot of repair videos and sewing stuff but what most viewers of my audience don’t know is that I also have done a lot of paper crafts in the last decades. This started way back when I was in Kindergarten. Our teachers tried to improve our skills in working with paper, cutting, being creative and having fun with it. So this was literally something I grew up with. My mother and I did a lot of creative crafts until I became a teenager. It’s not that I stopped liking it but somehow this went into the background and we only had limited space to decorate the apartment and the Christmas tree. We also did hand painted eggs for Easter and lanterns for November.
My crafter side
This article is possibly more from my crafter side than from my collector side but sometimes it’s really hard to divide because there are no borders. You can work in every part if you want. I hope I’m not boring you but my parents showed me a lot concerning being creative. It’s more a kind of lifestyle than just using it to survive. I can post you a pic of what I did for the upcoming Christmas season. A part of it is already at my parents house because they visited us last month and I made a little parcel with all the things I’ve done in the past months.
Making your own lanterns in Kindergarten and Elementary School
In Kindergarten and Elementary School it’s very popular to make your own lanterns. Every year a lantern procession is done on 11th of November to celebrate St. Martin of Tour. The legend says he once shared his red cloak in a snowstorm with a beggar and so he became Saint Martin instead of just Bishop Martin. The story is taught in every Elementary School in the German speaking areas of Europe. Maybe it’s spread wider but I have not been there in school.
When I was little Halloween was something completely unknown to us. We did not know and we did not celebrate it. I’m not the biggest fan of Halloween either. That’s why I did a moderately inspired video about a Halloween outfit for Francie last week. http:// https://youtu.be/JWPlI4Gz_K8
St. Martin’s Day
Somehow I was reminded that St. Martin is coming up and I decided to take the idea a little further and teach you a little bit about diy lantern making. Since I have a channel for Barbie and Barbie related topics I decided to make a video of how to diy your own miniature lantern for Barbie dolls. Normal lanterns are way to big for using them for dolls. That’s where the idea to show you this kind of tradition to diy your own miniature lantern for Barbie and her 11 1/2 inch size sisters comes from. The lantern procession is kind of our counterpart to Halloween. It’s almost the same time. The main audience is children. Some of them come in costumes. Singing is very important but they don’t stop at every door to get sweets. The procession is rather peaceful and the parents also attend the procession. You can bring as many relatives as you have. The more you have the funnier the whole procession is. Normally the procession starts in a school yard, then moves through some residential areas and then they go back to the school yard. The lanterns are often made in arts and crafts lessons.
The help of my parents with the lanterns
My parents worked with me on special lanterns. One year I had a shining sun lantern, another year a rocket lantern. You can basically do anything you like. As you can imagine the school children have often more complex lanterns than the younger children still in Kindergarten.
This whole topic made me think if I should do a video for you not only showing you how to diy your own miniature lanterns for Barbie and her sisters but also give you a little background why I have not invested so much effort in the Halloween outfit for Francie but into lantern making. I hope you understand it and I’ve made you a little more curious in how to diy your own miniature lanterns. A nice lantern is an enrichment for every doll house.
