This is a very easy to do lantern swag using some sprays, a big loopy bow and we also added these cute RAZ Autumn elves for decoration.
SuppliesF3402561 RAZ Autumn Pine Berry Spray
FH7705 Cotton Boll Vine Pick
EW007540 Persimmon Mixed Berry Spray
FH7699 Cotton Boll Bush
3502204 RAZ Autumn Elves Set of 2
RA13136M Jacquard Natural Weave 1.5"
RA1368 Natural Loose Weave Burlap 2.5"
X514340-49 Natural Linen Fall Scarecrow 2.5"
RE366518 Faux Jute Flex Tubing Natural
(other ribbon strips were just remnants)
The lantern is just an old lantern that we had rusting away in the garage and a few weeks ago we repainted it with some left over chalk paint and kept it from going in the trash! We wanted to decorate it for autumn and in a few weeks and we'll do another one soon with a Halloween decoration.
The first thing we did was to make the bow. This is a "funky" style bow that is made based on a tutorial that Julie with Southern Charm Wreaths has. She has an excellent tutorial for this bow and also a lantern swag so you might want to check it out. Be sure to follow her channel too on YouTube, she has great decorating ideas and very helpful tutorials. Here's a link to her tutorial: How to Make a Lantern Swag
To make our bow, we chose a few new ribbons that we have in stock on Trendy Tree but also picked up some remnant ribbon that we have on our craft table. Making a bow like this is an excellent way to use up ribbon scraps.
Pieces were cut 30-40" This lantern is about 25" in ht, so I needed long ribbon strips to have enough tail to hang down. I cut about 7 pieces of ribbon, some 30" 36" or 40" They don't all have to be the same length, actually it's better that they aren't. I went ahead and made a chevron cut on the tails to finish them off.
Take a ribbon strip, pinch the ribbon together with right side facing up.
Make a 6" loop. It doesn't matter if your tails are not hanging evenly. With the loop pinched together, make sure both tails are right side facing up. Hold this loop pinched in your hand and continue making more loops with the other strips. We also added in some Faux Jute Flex Tubing loops too just to give it additional texture. Some of our ribbons were sheer and some were fairly thick. Some were 2.5" in width and some 1.5"
Secure your cluster of loops with a chenille stem, or you could use a zip tie. Secure it tightly.
Once you have it secured, fluff out your ribbons.
To bring some of your tails to the back of the bow, spread the ends of the chenille stem out, and pull some of the ribbon tails to the back. Bring them up over the chenille stem and secure the chenille stem. The bow and be fluffed more and positioned once you get it attached to your lantern swag.
We started with our largest spray. It's a RAZ Autumn Pine Berry Spray F3402561 and measures about 29" This spray was full enough that we really didn't need to do much to it. Since it was our largest spray to use, it was our primary spray. We wanted the spray to hang off on one side more than the other.
On the opposite end we added a small Cotton Boll Vine Pick FH7705 and just positioned it on top of the stem of the large spray.
To make the Cotton Boll Vine Pick fuller, we added a Persimmon Mixed Berry Spray EW007540. All the while just holding the sprays in my hand for now.
The sprays were secured together with a couple of zip ties. We haven't cut any of the length of the sprays off at this point, but you can after your done if they show.
Since we had the spray with the cotton bolls on one end, we took some pieces from a Cotton Boll Bush FH7699 and added in a couple to the large RAZ spray. Many times you really just need to break apart your sprays and add pieces in rather than a whole spray. Some sprays are full enough that you work just by themselves. It just all depends on the look you are going for. We thought adding a little of the cotton boll would blend the sides better.
The short pieces of cotton boll sprays were just worked into the large RAZ spray and secured with the ends of the short pieces. Tiny zip ties can be added to any piece that needs additional securing.
The free space between the sprays is where we attached the bow. It was about the width of my hand where I was holding the sprays. The bow was secured to the swag first with the chenille stem and the swag secured to the lantern top in two places with the Faux Jute Flex Tubing,
After you have the swag secured, you can manipulate the sprays to make them hang down how you want them. Fluff your bow and position your tails. Julie with Southern Charm Wreaths had an excellent tip about positioning your ribbon tails. If one just doesn't hang where you want it to, use a glue dot to hold it in place.
At this point you can always add in little extra pieces of spray, leaves, berries, etc to cover up any holes or anything. You can do this with hot glue, floral wire, etc.
We added these cute little RAZ Autumn Elves 3502204 as an extra touch. The one on top was positioned and secured with a chenille stem. We put a little pumpkin gourd in his hands and set the other one on top of a gourd. The candle is one of those battery flickering flame style so no worry about flames))