July 4th is just a few days away! So why not celebrate by making an Independence Day decoration of your own? Patriotic paper lanterns are a fun and easy way to show your 4th of July spirit!

You will need:

• a ruler
• red, white, and blue construction paper or card stock
• scissors
• a stapler
• a pencil
• some string
• markers (optional)
• glue (optional)
• decorations of your choice: these can be stickers, ribbons, fun shaped hole punchers, glitter, or anything patriotic!
• 

Once you have all of your materials and decorations you are ready!

1. First, fold a sheet of paper hot dog style or long ways
   
2. Then take your ruler and draw lines 1 inch apart from the fold. Make sure not to draw the lines all the way across the paper! You want to leave some space for the next steps.
   
3. Next, you are going to cut along the lines you just drew. Be careful not to cut the paper all the way!
   
4. After you are done cutting, unfold the paper, bend the paper towards the top and bottom and staple the them together.
    

   

   

5. Now you are finally ready to decorate! Put on your favorite stickers, glue on different shapes and ribbons, or even draw your own decorations to make your lantern as colorful and patriotic as possible.
6. After you finish decorating the last step is to make the handles. Cut 1 inch strips of colored paper and tape/glue them to the inside of the top of the lanterns.

Here’s what our finished product looks like:

Show off your awesome 4th of July decorations by hanging them up inside or outside.
We decided to hang ours up here in the office!