How to Make an Eyeball Lantern (and Why)

Whether you are looking out for one another, watching over our democracy, or keeping an eye on the future, the task is always weirder and more wonderful with an Eyeball Lantern -- or dozens of them -- to keep you focused. I reverse engineered this design from an original creation by the Lantern Company in Liverpool. Let me know if you come up with variations or improvements!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Paper lantern (these are available on the internet in a range of sizes. I've used anything from 6” to 18” diameter)
• Tissue paper -- 2-3 (or more) colors
• Black tissue paper (or black construction paper)
• Wax paper
• All-purpose glue (Elmer’s or similar) 
• Scissors
• Paint brush
• Tape (optional but useful)
• A stick or pole about 1/2" in diameter (bigger for lanterns 16” or larger)
• Zip ties, twist ties, or string
• Lightweight dangling LED light (also available on the internet)



WHAT TO DO:

1.  Assemble the lantern by inserting the wire frame. 

Just to orient you: the bottom (smaller) round opening will be covered by the pupil/iris, and you will attach the stick/pole across the top (larger) opening. When you hold up the stick, the eyeball will face forward. 

2.  Cut two circles of black tissue paper (or one circle of black construction paper) for the pupil. These should be just big enough to cover the smaller opening. Hint: find a jar or bowl that’s the right size and trace it.

3.  Cut 2-3 circles of colored tissue paper for the iris. The diameter of the iris should be 2-3x the pupil size – you can decide what looks best on your lantern. Again, tracing a bowl or plate works well. Cut these colored circles into pizza pieces, 8-12 per circle. 

4.  Trace the iris-sized bowl onto the wax paper. Lay the wax paper on a flat surface you can glue on.  

5.  Paint a circle of glue inside the traced circle on the wax paper. Arrange the colored pizza pieces to fill the circle. Alternate colors, overlapping them a bit to create more colors. This is the trickiest part, so go slow: you'll want to line up the outer edges carefully along the traced line. (The middle part doesn't matter so much, since you’ll be covering it with the pupil anyway.) 

6.  Paint over the whole thing with glue, so it soaks through the tissue paper, and there's a thin coating covering the whole thing. Again, go slow.

Note: The iris can be whatever pattern/design you want to make with the tissue paper. On some of mine I added gold points like a sunburst around the pupil. Other people put polka dots on theirs. Feel free to do whatever you think looks cool, within that traced circle! 

7.  Glue the black pupil circles onto the center of the iris and coat with a layer of glue. Let this whole assembly dry thoroughly. (A hair dryer can speed this up.) 

8.  Trim the extra wax paper, leaving an inch or so all the way around the iris. Cut slits from the outside edge toward the center of the pupil -- again, kind of like a pizza, but stop when you get to the pupil. These "petals" will help the flat circle curve over the round lantern when you apply it.

9.  Center the pupil over the bottom (smaller) hole in the lantern, wax paper side down. You can secure it to the crosswire with a bit of tape so it won't slide around while you're gluing. Glue the iris down, overlapping the petals sightly to fit the curve of the lantern. The wax paper is a bit slippery, but it will hold if you use plenty of glue. Let this whole thing dry thoroughly. Touch up any loose edges.

10.  Affix the pole across the bigger (top) hole of the lantern, using zip ties (or string, or whatever works). Attach the LED light to the stick so it dangles inside the lantern.

11. You're done! Now you can just wait for it to get dark...