How To Make DIY Photo Memorial Lanterns To Honor Those We Love
Do you want to make DIY photo Memorial Lanterns? I’ll show you how with this simple tutorial!
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During the holidays we miss our family and friends who are far and can’t be with us and family who have passed away.
A DIY photo memorial lantern is a beautiful way to honor those who have passed, as well as other ideas to honor those we miss.
A few years ago we lost our “first baby”, our Siberian Husky. She was an amazing dog and we were blessed to have her for 15 1/2 years.
Our family wanted to do something to honor her so we decided to do a couple of projects. This first one was a memorial lantern.
Memorial Lantern Supplies
I had a decorative lantern from Ikea, these come in a variety of sizes. We spent time picking out some of our favorite photos of her over the years. I was only going to use one per window, but we couldn’t just pick one. We wanted a collection of quality pictures.
I decided to use real printed photos as I wanted the pictures to be vibrant. I have used Vellum paper before and it is more transparent but the photos are a little harder to see by day.
Memorial Lanterns Instructions
We put the pictures on the inside of all 4 lantern sides.
I taped the double pictures together and there were tabs on the inside that I slid the photos into.
I bought a timer pillar candle from World Market. It is a flameless candle and has a built-in automatic timer. You turn it on at a certain time, it stays on for 5 hours, off for 19 hours, and then automatically turns back on.
Here it is lit up.
This is another memory shadow box we made in honor of her. It is actually an art frame that has a front door on it that you can open and put different art in.
We bought it on Walmart.com. We filled it with a paw print, her collar, and one of our favorite pictures.
We miss her very much. We love having this light-up lantern and when we see it we think of her and talk about all our great memories with her.
I made one of these for my mom and dad of my grandparents – one side is of their wedding pictures, and the other side is a picture of them later in life after celebrating many years of marriage together. I’ll have to get a picture so I can add it for all of you to see.
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More memorial ideas
You might be interested in some more memorial ideas.
- Stunning DIY Photo Lantern for Any Occasion and Memorial Day Craft
- Easy and Beautiful Memorial Craft: Message In A Bottle
- 15 Amazing and Easy DIY Photo Gifts For Any Occasion
Other ways to celebrate before or after a memorial service or memorial events include
- a sympathy candle
- launching paper lanterns or sky lanterns
- having a wax candle to light in memory and or place memorial candles the front window pane
- Write beautiful memorial quotes and put them on a canvas, photo book, etc
Learn more about “Creating Seasonal Decor for Your Home” to create seasonal decor that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Check out my other photo projects!
- Personalized Photo Trivet
- Stunning DIY Photo Lantern for Any Occasion and Memorial Day Craft
- Glowing Photo Holder
How To Make DIY Photo Memorial Lanterns
Equipment
- Scissors
Ingredients
- Lantern
- Photos
- Tape
Instructions
- Gather the 4 photos that you want to use in your lantern.
- Tape them to the inside of the glass and secure with the lantern tabs.
- Add a solar candle.
- Enjoy your beautiful DIY photo memorial lantern!
Nice ways of keeping memories of loved ones, including pets, alive. 🙂
Thanks so much Linda 🙂 I truly love having it light up in her memory.
How did you attach the paw print. I was trying to do something similar but struggling with how to keep the paw print in place.
Great question Ginny, I used one of the command hook strips to hold it in place.
I have been trying to create the perfect gift for my youngest daughter who just got married. I am not to creative, but I like the pictures in the lamp. I think 4 wedding shots would be awesome. Thank you very much, Missy P
Thank you Missy and that is a lovely idea and great gift! I’d love to see pictures when you’re done
I love this so much! I am going to pin it and do something similar. Thank you for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things!
Thank you so much Pam and thanks for the Pin. I’m thrilled you are inspired to make one too 🙂
What a lovely way to remember your sweet dog, Chas! Your memory lantern is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing it with us at the Hearth and Soul Link Party.
Thank you so very much April, We miss her and this helps light up her memory. Thanks for hosting a lovely party.
You are so very special Chas.
You are so very sweet Jody, thank you so much for the kind words.