It’s raining, it’s pouring, it’s another day at home and it’s so boring! Yes, it was one of those days and my kids were not having it. All I heard every five minutes was “What are we going to do?” I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. I love breaking out DIY projects with my kids on those days when it’s just too cold or too wet outside. And living in Chicago, you know we have plenty of those!
Recently, I was inspired by some rain clouds I saw at the Happy Play Café in Lincoln Park. I loved the real life airy feel to them, so I decided to turn it into a project with my kids.
I purchased all of the items off Amazon but you can also find them at your local Michaels or Hobby Lobby.
Materials
- White paper lanterns (any size). I ordered the ones that were 16 inches in diameter.
- Clear nylon bead thread. You can find this in the jewelry section of a craft store, or you can use clear fishing wire.
- White Polyester Filling for crafts
- Glue gun or some type of clear adhesive like Elmers clear glue
- Clear crystal beads that are drop-shaped, round or both. Basically you want them to resemble a rain drop.
- Scissors
- Needle
Directions
You will need to assemble the lantern, which is pretty self-explanatory. They usually come with instructions. Mine just came with the paper itself and the wire stand to stick through to hold its shape.
Once you have that assembled you can than begin measuring how long you want your raindrops. Hanging them at different height levels makes it look more realistic.
Thread your needle with the desired length wire and poke it through the lantern, poking it above a ridge rather than directly below the ridge. Thread your bead and tie a sturdy knot. Since the wire is a bit thick I usually double or triple knot it so it doesn’t come apart. Repeat all around the bottom of the lantern until you have enough raindrops. 6-10 beads should be enough.
After adding all your beads, glue your poly-fil onto the lantern. You can let the kids in on this part of the project. My kids loved spreading that poly-fil apart!
Glue the poly-fil row by row to make it easier to keep track. Fill in any gaps and you’re done!
I hung mine up in my garage which I turned into a playroom with an outdoor theme. I simply added a small hook into the ceiling and attached the hook of the lantern onto it so it looks like it is mounted directly on the ceiling. My kids love the cloud and we are currently making a few more for the garage.
Try it for yourself and share the end result with us on Instagram! Tag us @chicagoparent.
