Autumn Fairy Lantern

Hey Everybody! I'm Jesse Chandler and I want to welcome you to Part 1 of 

The Autumn Fairy Lantern Project. As you can see the Lantern is unadorned 

as of now, but in September we will move onto Part 2 - Painting and Decorating! 

So Let’s Go!!!

Autumn Fairy Lantern - Part 1 - Hand Building

Supply List

CREATIVE PAPERCLAY®  - For this project you will probably use about 4-6 

ounces of clay. Around ⅓ of a 16 ounce package of Creative Paperclay® 

depending upon the size you decide on.

To make:

Foundation Center Circle

6 large Petals

6 smaller Petals

1 Spiral Center

Various sized Berries

Other Supplies:

Matt or Tile or Other flat, smooth surface to work on

Flat Paint Brush

Clay tool for smoothing

Stylus or scoring tool

Rolling Pin

Plastic Wrap

Tape

Plastic bag

Small pieces of food box weight cardstock for Petal Template - you might 

want to size up or down, depending upon size of Saucer.

Cup of H2O

Spray bottle of H2O

LED Votive Candle

Small shallow bowl or saucer for mold (see different options in photo below)











Download Template for Petals

Petal Template is included mostly as a guide for shape.  You may have to try 

a couple different sizes to accommodate the Saucer you choose as a Slump Mold. 

Suggestions to Start

Read All Directions before starting for best success!

Gather all supplies before beginning to avoid frustration later.

Only roll out Creative Paperclay® as you need it so exposure doesn’t dry it out.

Please be gentle with yourself during the Creative Process. 

 The Piece does not have to be Perfect for you to have a Perfectly Wonderful 

time making it!

When not using Creative Paperclay® keep package closed and in a ziplock bag.

Before sculpting, condition Creative Paperclay® with a bit of water and 

kneading. Your hands will dry the clay out as you work it, don’t be afraid 

to add a bit more water. Process should only take 5 minutes.


Let’s Go!


One of the things that makes Creative Paperclay® so wonderful to 

work with is it’s likeness to ceramic clay. Because of that, many of the 

same techniques and practices apply. Below are a few Pottery Terms that 

will come in handy as we work together.


Scoring or Crosshatching - is the gentle scraping or drawing gentle 

indentations of 2 or more pieces of clay that you intend to fuse 

together permanently.

Spraying - Wetting or spritzing your clay. Do this after scoring the clay 

pieces for better adherence.


Covering - when you are not working with a portion or the whole piece, i

t’s important to keep it covered with a plastic bag. This will also help keep 

the piece from cracking. You can even spritz a little water in the bag to 

keep it hydrated.

Slump Mold - To Create the Fairy Lantern, you will be using the inside of 

a saucer or shallow bowl. This is called “working in the slump” 

or a “slump mold.”


Slip - A very wet clay and water mixture used to “glue” clay parts together.


Foundation

Cut a piece of plastic wrap to fit saucer. Lay over the inside of saucer 

and tape down plastic wrap securely on bottom of saucer.

Roll out palm sized ball of Creative Paperclay® to ¼” thickness with rolling pin. T

o get level ¼ thick pieces, place a regular pencil on each side of Creative Paperclay® 

and roll. The pencil should provide the right thickness. Flip the Creative Paperclay® 

over and roll on that side as well for smoothness. Roll in the opposite direction 

like you would a pie crust.









Make Foundation center circle about the same size as the center of saucer 

or use the the LED candle circumference as a guide.

Spray both center of saucer and underside of Creative Paperclay® circle. 

 Press Creative Paperclay® circle down into center of saucer until it’s 

about ⅛” thick. Cover saucer and Creative Paperclay® with plastic bag 

and set aside.






Petals - Large

Roll out palm sized ball of Creative Paperclay® to ¼” thickness using 

pencils and rolling pin. (See Foundation photos) 

Free hand (Suggestion: Practice on Paper First) or use pdf template 

to cut from Creative Paperclay® - 6 Large Petals. As you cut each Petal, 

set aside and cover.

Spray and Smooth Petal edges with finger and paint brush to avoid 

sanding later. Set aside and cover each when finished.

Check fit of Petals over Foundation.






Score Foundation circle gently with clay tool or stylus. Score the underside 

of lower end of 2 Petals. Spray each scored surface.

Place each Petal on opposite sides of Foundation circle from 

one another. Press base of each Petal into Foundation circle, until it adheres.









Repeat scoring, spraying and placing the other four Petals in the 

open spaces around Foundation circle, allowing them to touch, but leaving 

a small open space in the middle. Press the remaining for Petals down 

onto Foundation. If there is some “Petal overlap” that’s okay.










Spritz and cover with plastic bag and set aside.

Petals - Smaller

Roll out palm sized ball of Creative Paperclay® to ¼” thickness using 

pencils (as guide) and rolling pin. (See Foundation photo)

Free hand (Suggestion: Practice on Paper First) or use pdf template to 

cut from Creative Paperclay® - 6 Smaller Petals. As you cut each Petal, 

set aside and cover.

Spray and Smooth Petal edges with finger and paint brush to avoid 

sanding later, as you did with the Large Petals. Set aside and cover each 

when finished

Suggestion: After Cutting out Small Petals try them out for fit and look, 

over Large Petals, but don't Press them into place permanently. I find when 

I get something I like it helps to take a picture so I will remember it.

Take Small Petals off and score with clay tool or stylus, the underside of 

lower end of Small Petals. 

Score top of Large Petals at base near center circle opening with tool or stylus.  

Spray each scored surface.

Place, (don’t press yet!) the first Small Petal between 2 Large Petals that 

are already fused to Foundation.

Place, (don’t press yet!) second Small Petal on opposite side of Foundation 

circle from first, between 2 Large Petals.






Repeat scoring, spraying and placing, (don’t press yet!) the other four Petals i

n open spaces onto circle, between Large Petals. Allow Petals to overlap and 

spill onto each other at base, but leave a small open space in the middle.

When you are satisfied with the look, press base of each Small Petal 

into Foundation circle/Large Petal base, until it adheres.

Petals Veins - (Suggestion: Practice on Paper First.)

With your stylus or carving tool, free hand 1 vein up through the center of Petal 

vertically. Be delicate and make only a gentle indentation in the Creative Paperclay®. 

You want to draw on the Creative Paperclay®, not weaken it with a deep cut.

Carefully free hand diagonal veins from each side of the vertical center line. 3 or 4 

on each side of the center vein are usually enough.









Spritz and cover with plastic bag and set aside.

Spiral Overlay

Using hands, roll a ball of Creative Paperclay® about the size of a half dollar, 

into snake shape about 8”-10” long and ¼” thick.









Spray Creative Paperclay® snake with h20 and Coil into tight Circle. 









The goal is to cover the Foundation Center and rough base edges of Petals, 

while making a flat spot for the votive to sit. Your snake may be too long, 

so just use what you need to accomplish the above goal.






Place coil over foundation, (don’t press yet!), covering Pressed bottom of petals.

At this point you may want to place the Votive on the Spiral and check fit. 

 Make changes to spiral or piece as necessary.

Score and spray the bottom of the Spiral and bottom of Small Petals.  

Press Spiral very gently to fuse, but carefully so Spiral remains intact. 

Spray and smooth Spiral, Petals and Veins as needed. Spritz and cover 

with plastic bag and set aside.

Berries

The final step is making Creative Paperclay® Berries in three different sizes 

to cover your sins and to jack up the “cute factor!” There may be some trial 

and error here to get sizes and look you like. Or better yet, skip my directions 

and work up your own design!

With hands, roll out a tiny ball of Creative Paperclay® about the size of 

the tip of your pinkie finger for the Largest Berries. This should fit the empty 

space at the base of a Large Petal, between the overlapped Small Petals.

Check fit. DON’T PRESS! Adjust size as needed and make 5 more 

of these (6 total). Spray, score surfaces and press firmly into position to adhere.

With hands, roll out a tiny ball of Creative Paperclay®, a bit smaller, 

for Medium Berries. This should fit the empty space all along outside 

edge of spiral and at the base of the smaller Petals.






Check fit. DON’T PRESS! Adjust size of Berries and make as many as 

need to go completely around Spiral. Spray, score surfaces and press 

firmly into position to adhere.






With hands, roll out a tiny ball of Creative Paperclay®, even smaller, 

for Small Berries. This will sit above and centered between the 2 medium 

berries and on smaller Petals.

Check fit. DON’T PRESS! Adjust size as needed and make as many as 

needed to go completely around circumference of Smaller Petals, around 

outside circumference of Medium Berries. Spray, score surfaces and press 

into position to adhere.

Place LED Tea Light in center to check for fit. It should sit right on the Spiral, 

inside the Berries. Gently move berries and make adjustments as needed. 

 Smooth over Creative Paperclay® that got roughed up.






Put back in Slump Mold (saucer) with plastic wrap. Spray the whole piece 

and cover lightly with plastic bag. Place somewhere safe with ventilation. 

 Be patient, don’t handle and let the piece dry completely on top.






After a couple of days you can gently turn it upside down, make a little bed 

for it to rest over, from a dry sponge or cloth. Place it gently, uncovered. 

 Be patient, don’t handle and let the piece dry completely on bottom.






During the drying process you may find that a couple of Berries have 

come loose. Just make up a bit of slip and reattach to Lantern. Fill any 

cracks with slip and a brush.

Smooth very carefully in places that may need it with a tiny bit of H2O 

and a very soft brush. Allow to dry again.

Below are different examples of ways to use Berries and Spirals for 

embellishment with the Creative Paperclay®.  Go Crazy and have Fun!

Breathe. Would love to see photos of your work! Write me here on Face Book 

with Questions or Comments. Thanks so much for spending some time with me. 

Painting Tutorial coming in September! Until then…


You can find Creative Paperclay® at the following retailer’s:
Creative Paperclay® Online Store, Michael’s, Amazon, Joann's

       

             Jesse Chandler