Not for packing. Every template in this section is made to be looked at: lamps, hanging pieces and show pieces for a room, a party or a festival. Each one is drawn to the size you type, and each picture below is the finished piece built from the same numbers as its template.
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Sphere template
A paper ball built from gores — the orange-peel segments a globe is made of. No folding at all: the paper takes the curve on its own.
Also called paper ball or globe template
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3D star template
A star with every point raised out of the plane, in two halves that meet back to back. Christmas tree toppers, hanging decorations, window stars.
Also called 3d paper star or christmas star
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Lamp shade template
A faceted pendant shade from three to twelve panels, open at the bottom, with a top ring that the lamp holder clamps — the way a shop-bought shade hangs. Diamond cut-outs let a pattern of light out through every panel. For LED bulbs only.
Also called paper lampshade or pendant lamp shade
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Paper lantern template
The classic slit-paper lantern: a strip cut into ribbons, rolled into a tube and pressed down so the ribbons bow out. A crease across the middle gives the pointed Chinese-lantern shape. Diwali, Chinese New Year, Ramadan, parties and classrooms.
Also called chinese paper lantern or diwali lantern
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Low-poly vase template
A faceted vase of triangles: a base, a belly, a neck and a lip, each turned half a step from the last so every band is a zigzag of flat faces. Build it round a jar of water for fresh flowers, or stand dried ones straight in it.
Also called geometric vase or paper vase template
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Star lantern template
The akash kandil: a star-shaped lantern with a window in each face and a band round the points, hung from a cord through the top point. Diwali, Christmas, porches and balconies.
Also called akash kandil or diwali star lantern
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Bunting template
Garland flags that fold over a string: triangles, swallowtails or round-bottomed pennants, as many as you want, all the same size. Birthdays, weddings, classrooms, shop windows.
Also called paper bunting or flag banner template
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Paper rosette template
A fan medallion: a pleated strip joined into a ring and pressed flat into a disc, with a round centre on each side to hold it. Backdrops, walls, party tables and award rosettes.
Also called paper fan medallion or paper rosette backdrop
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Polyhedron lantern template
A twelve-sided dodecahedron lantern with a window in every face and a hole in one for the cord. Hang it over an LED bulb or fill it with fairy lights.
Also called dodecahedron lantern or geometric paper lantern
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Pleated lamp shade template
An accordion-pleated shade: one long strip of even pleats, rolled into a ring and drawn in at the top by a cord through every pleat, so the bottom fans open. No cutting patterns, no glue on the pleats. LED bulbs only.
Also called accordion lamp shade or pleated paper lampshade
Questions
- What makes a template "decor" rather than a box?
- It holds nothing. A box is sized by what goes inside it; a lamp shade, a lantern or a hanging star is sized by where it will hang or stand. They are drawn by the same tool — type your size, print at 100%, cut the solid lines and fold the dashed ones — but they are kept apart from the boxes so you never open one expecting packaging.
- Can I put a light in them?
- Only an LED: an LED bulb in a lamp shade, a battery tea light or an LED string in a lantern. A filament or halogen bulb against paper, or any real flame, is a fire risk.
- Which paper should I use?
- Ordinary 160–250 gsm card folds cleanly at the sizes these open with. For the lamp shades and lanterns, a translucent or vellum card glows all over; plain white card lets light out only through the cut-outs.
- Do they print at home?
- Yes. Every one opens at a size that prints on A4 or US Letter, and each piece prints whole on a page. Bigger sizes print in numbered sections that glue together.
Origami templates · Looking for packaging? All 61 box templates.