Here at SkyWishLanterns.com we love nothing more than to find any excuse to release our glorious sky lanterns, it could be someone’s birthday or simply because the sun is shining. No matter what the reason, you can be sure we’ll be releasing sky lanterns anyway because we love it so much.

We also love to bake, and there’s nothing better than having a lantern launch and some baked goods to have at the same time. We like to make a mini event out of it! So we’ve decided to share with you, our dear, loyal customers, the best kept secret in the baking world, the best ever cup cake recipe!

We guarantee after making these little gems people will be begging you for the recipe! Stay strong, don’t crack, keep this one to yourself!

What you need:

125g of butter
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1/2 cup of milk
1 and 1/2 cups of flour

What you do:

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees.
Line 12 cup cake holders with patty papers
Cream the butter and sugar together then add the vanilla. Mix well.
Add the eggs and beat in well.
Slowly add part of the milk and part of the flour until all mixed in.
Spoon the mixture into the cup cake moulds and place in the oven for 20minutes or until golden brown.
Decorate with icing and treats as you see fit.

If you have any questions about the recipe or about sky lanterns or would like to provide us with any feedback on anything, please contact us on sales@skywishlanterns.com

Guests at a wedding launching sky lanterns

Everyone knows how wonderful sky lanterns are when incorporated into a wedding celebration, but more often then not, people use them in a rushed and unplanned manner, so they still look great, but could look even better if people took the time to plan and think about their lantern launch a little more.

SkyWishLanterns.com has supervised a few lantern launches at weddings and we couldn’t believe how people were going about it, needless to say we had to step in and add a few pointers to get the whole thing organised. We had people just ripping into the lanterns (most under the influence of alchohol) not knowing what they were or even how to use them, then trying to light them upsidedown nearly setting fire to their sleeves! Luckily we were there to show people how to use them and prevent any potential problems, but what if we hadn’t of been there?

If you are having an unsupervised lantern launch at your wedding and having your guests launch the lanterns, you must ensure you nominate someone to stand up infront of the guests, take the microphone and explain very clearly how to light and launch the lanterns.

Prior to your wedding you should familiarise yourself with the safety instructions which are available here and then you can ensure your guests are familiar with them as well on the day by giving a copy to the MC to read out prior to the launch.

You should also let them all know when to start the process and let them off so the lanterns all go up together or as near to eachother as possible for maximum effectiveness.

To book SkyWishLanterns.com to supervise your wedding lantern launch, please call us on 1800 234 0781 or email contact@skywishlantern.com

Local schools have been having a blast with our paper lanterns (also known as wish lanterns, sky lanterns and Thai lanterns). We have given some of the schools some white paper lanterns to decorate – they can use whatever they like as long as the lantern can still be launched. Most of the kids used paint and glitter to decorate their lanterns, it proved to be a popular activity amongst the children and the teachers.

Another fun craft idea is a bug lantern made out of a plastic cup.

What you need:
•Dome shaped plastic cups
•Indoor/outdoor light string
•Paint
•Markers – black, white, red, yellow and blue
•Tacky Glue 
•Wood Shapes-
eight medium circles, four XL teardrops, two small circles, two XXL hearts, two XL hearts
•Movable eyes- six
•12” black chenille stem
•Interior/Exterior Varnish

What you do:
1.Use marker to paint plastic cups for the following animals.
Bee- use the black and yellow paint and markers
Ladybug- use the black and red markers and paint
Butterfly- use any colours you like! Allow to dry and coat over paint with varnish.
2.Paint wood shapes with paint markers. Paint six medium circles and two small circles white. Paint two XL teardrops white. Paint XXL hearts blue. Paint XL hearts yellow. Paint two XL teardrops red. Paint two medium circles black. Outline teardrop shapes with black pen. Draw spots on red teardrops with black and white markers.
3.Glue wood shapes together as shown with Craft Bond and attach wiggle eyes to white circles for three sets.
4.Glue eyes to bugs with Tacky Glue. Pierce slit in sides of bugs for wings with X-ACTO knife or scissors and insert wings. Cut chenille stems to six lengths of 4” each. Bend ends for antennae. Pierce holes for antennae at top of cups. Place a small amount of Tacky Glue on each piece and insert into holes.
5.Pierce hole for light. Attach bugs to light string.

Enjoy your craft time!

Since it’s a brand new year, it’s time for a fresh start, a brand new outlook on life! Here at Sky Lantern, we’ve put together a list of what we’re going to do this year to make ourselves feel and look amazing. What’s on your list? It’s not necessarily a New Year’s Resolution list, more of a What Can I Do For Myself This Year list. 

We’ve decided the number one thing we’re going to do for ourselves this year is to make more time for our friends and family. These days we may have a lot of contact with our friends and family via the internet and phone calls, but nothing compares to good old fashioned quality time. Where you all meet up and have a picnic, go to the lake or just play some board games together. It’s so important to spend time with our loved ones, so that’s what we’re doing this year.

Number two on our list was to exercise more. Let’s face it, we’re all busy people, and most of us have jobs that don’t require us to do much, if any, movement throughout the day. Couple that with the atrocious food we eat everyday, it’s no wonder we’re piling on the pounds! So this year, it’s all about getting fit, we’re running, walking and going back to the gym, hopefully we’ll be fit in time for summer!

Number three was to make more time for ourselves. Whether this is reading a book or taking a long hot bubble bath, as long as we’re alone, that’s all that counts. So many people are under constant pressure from work and home to be here, there and six places at once, we’ve found it stresses us out! Taking time out to be alone and enjoy being alone is something we’re definitely looking forward to!

The countdown is on – in only a few days it will be a brand new year, 2010! The team here at Sky Wish Lanterns is very excited, 2010 is a year that should be celebrated with your family and friends in a comfortable environment, not out in the cold with a bunch of strangers at a street party. So we have a load of tips to share with you about throwing the best New Year’s Eve Party for all your friends and family to welcome 2010 in style!

The number one tip is to send your invites out early, by early we mean October! October is usually when people start thinking about how and where they will spend New Year’s Eve. If they know there’s going to be a killer party in their own town, they will happily stay. Otherwise people start looking to travel to be with other friends. If you can contain all your friends and family to the one town rest assured they will all want to come to your party.

Next, you need to decide if you want a theme. Theme’s are great for New Year’s Eve parties as you can look back on the photos and say, “I remember that party is was the 2009/2010 party because we’re all dressed like doctors and nurses”. A theme is also a great ice breaker for people who may not know many of the other guests. The next step is to ensure you have an awesome playlist set up on your ipod and a New Year’s Eve welcome song – this is the song you need to play just after the countdown. So make sure you don’t get too drunk before midnight! After music, you need to sort out the food and drink. Encourage people to bring their own alcohol but have a stash in a secret cupboard just in case. You then need to make sure the space you are using is workable for the number of guests you have invited. You may need to move some furniture or borrow some from a friend. The last step is to make sure you have some Sky Lanterns to launch at midnight! They will light up the sky and will bring in the new year in a unique and beautiful way.

Once you have all these elements sorted out, party away and have a great night!

Sky Lanterns are the must-have party accessory these days, gone are the days where you could simply tie up some balloons and lay out some fancy canapes to celebrate an occassion.

 Whether you entertain at home for birthdays, organise corporate events or have a wedding to plan, guests expect more so it’s up to the hosts to create the ‘wow’ factor and make their event the one that will stand out from the rest. That’s where Sky Lanterns come in. Sky Lanterns are safe and easy to use and look gorgeous at all times of the day as well as night. 

They create an effect that’s hard to describe in words, you simply have to see it to believe it! One of our customers described them as glowing wishes in the sky others call them the romantic alternative to fireworks. However you describe them you can be sure they are like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

You can see some of the images and videos we have of Sky Lanterns in use here on our website in our Gallery.

The most popular celebration where Sky Lanterns are used is in weddings. More than ever, brides to be are constantly looking for ways to enhance the beauty of their wedding and are now turning to Sky Lanterns to help them achieve this. Sky Lanterns look stunning when used at the end of the reception. If you can gather all your guests into an open outdoor area and give them a lantern (one between two) to light and release, it truly makes for an unforgettable finale to your special day.

The guests love it too as they are involved directly with creating the visual spectacular. Be prepared to hear a lot of ooohs and ahhhs from everyone!