How to make heavenly lanterns with your own hands.

Celestial flashlights are also called balloonsdesires. It's not just a balloon, it's a whole art that allows you to create the lightest, but at the same time truly gorgeous flashlight that flies skyward towards the stars. The technology of manufacturing lanterns has been developed by Chinese masters for a long time. For their production, special paper is used, impregnated with a flame retardant solution, the thinnest wire, combustible materials and a light bamboo hoop.

For those who wish to create heavenly lanterns with their own hands, then a detailed technology will be provided.

Paper used to make weightlesscelestial lanterns in its qualities strongly resembles "tracing paper". In thickness, it is slightly smaller, but it is much more difficult to break. Some fans start sky lanterns, create them from plastic bags, but it should be borne in mind that domes of similar materials can catch fire not only at the moment of launch, but also in flight, which can cause a fire.

So, the first thing to do ischoose the dimensions and shape of the Chinese sky lantern. If you have never made heavenly lanterns with your own hands, then it's best to start with a rectangle. This form is quite easy to manufacture and is well suited for launching.

Next, go to the choice of paper.It is the key to the production of a flashlight. The color of the paper you can choose any, it all depends on your tastes and preferences. Its weight should be a maximum of 25 grams per m². such a density of paper allows the celestial ball to fly up even in the absence of wind or at high air temperature.

Paper from which the air will be madeflashlights with their own hands, must be impregnated with fire retardants. This lowers its vapor permeability, it practically does not get wet and does not absorb moisture, which allows you to store lanterns long enough and run them even at low precipitation. In addition, such formulations reduce the risk of fire of the entire flashlight even when a certain area of ​​paper is burned.

By design, ready-made sky lanternshands can be very different. Very difficult are the three-dimensional forms, since in the majority they consist of separate four canvases and are quite complicated in execution. For the first time, you can make flat lanterns made from two separate canvases.

To do this, you need a pair of paper towels fromwhich are cut out two droplets. Then the edges are neatly glued together, and the width of the seam should be at least 1 cm. In order for the ball to be better fixed along the entire edge of the fabric, it is desirable to stitch it in addition.

When the dome is ready, you can proceedconstruction of a bamboo frame. Why is this material used to make heavenly lanterns with their own hands? The peculiarity of this material is that it is flexible enough and very durable at the same time. Such properties allow not breaking through the thin paper of the ball.

The basis of the fixing structure is a circle, inthe center of which is crossed two wires. Then they fix the burner, which must be coated with a polymer substance. It is quite difficult to make a burner independently, but it is possible. To do this, you need any combustible substance, for example, tablets of dry alcohol and an iron frame. You can also use ordinary floating candles, but you should be careful, because a hot wax can pour a flame. Also, they are not suitable for large size lanterns. In order to make a celestial flashlight, it is possible to use a burner made of wax-impregnated cloth and combustible material.

When everything is completely dry, you can mount the frame to the paper cupboard with glue.