I’ve been wanting to make these clouds for awhile now. I thought they’d be a fun addition to a photo shoot. I actually bought the paper lanterns last year, but then got too busy and never got around to making them. This year, I decided to do a little Valentine’s Day mini shoot and finally make them! I also made cute bow and arrows for additional props. This was my little set up:

Full transparency, I had a bit of trouble making them at first, and they took WAY longer to put together than I had expected. However, they are super simple and easy to make, merely time consuming. I would suggest putting on a good show or podcast, then glue your little heart away until you need a break, then continue on the next day/night.

I have no idea how long in total they took to make. I started off with the right method, using hot glue as the binding agent, however my execution was flawed. I tried to do large sections at a time by making a big swirl and trying to get a large clump of Poly-fil to stick. It wasn’t working quite right, and I was flying through my glue sticks (I didn’t get nearly enough). My solution? Buy a gallon of Elmers glue, thickly slop it on and flip it over on the Poly-fil, then repeat until all sides are covered. Quick and easy, such a great idea, right?! 🤔💡Wrong. The glue was so heavy, it took over 3 days to dry. It didn’t stick well, some spots stayed wet and there were “bald” spots from trying to cover it too fast. Don’t do this. Please.

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Ok, now on to the correct and proper way to do this. I realized having a hot melt adhesive was the perfect binding agent, I just needed a TON of glue sticks and to do each section little by little until the entire lantern was covered. Bingo, perfecto! Ok, let’s do this. Supplies needed: Hot glue gun, paper lanterns, fishing wire, and Poly-fil.

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After you have all your lanterns put together, start gluing them together in pairs. My sweet boy, Marlo, was assisting me.

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After you have them all together, get ready for a slow and steady glue session. Squirt the glue on a small section, then immediately take a handful of Poly-fil and press firmly (but be gentle enough that you don’t punch through the lantern😉👊). Hold the Poly-fil against the lantern for a good 20-30 seconds, until it is firmly connected and slightly cooled. Repeat, slowly turning the lantern, until you have covered it in Poly-fil completely.

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Now you should have yourself some nice looking clouds!

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Use the fishing wire to loop inside the wire frame at the top of each lantern, then tie securely. After you have the clouds hung up, it’s fluff time! Gently pull on the Poly-fil to give more volume and dreamy fluff to the clouds.

Step back and admire your beautiful clouds, then take lots of pictures! ☁️