Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Holidays To One And All

Since our family dinner will be on the 26th, I still have a few days to prepare... so today I finished this year's table decoration for the seven of us who will be together Boxing Day at daughter's home:

Tim Holtz Window Die Lantern

Individual lanterns for each person's place at the table. Since it is made from chipboard and cardstock, a battery-powered candle was essential ;)


I didn't have Tim Holtz' cool new lantern die, so I used the next best thing... his awesome window and window box dies! I also used my 50% off coupon to get 12 battery-powered tealights at Michaels... the only new thing I purchased for this project - the rest of the supplies were from my stash.

I thought it would be easier to paint them before they were cut, so I got out seven sheets of chipboard, painted both sides a primer of white, then a layer of silver acrylic paint. Then I cut each 12 x 12 sheet in four, making them the size of the die and ran them through my Cuttlebug. I also found some thin plywood in my stash and made seven wooden bases, 4 by 4 inches each and also painted both sides silver.


I didn't know what to do for the roofs though, so I Googled some lantern images and found this shape... I played around with the design and made a template to cut and score 28 pieces, gluing the tabs to create removable rooftops (so the candle can be lifted out and turned on or off).


Once I had all the parts ready, the production line assembly began. My 12mm Scortape was perfect to attach the window boxes to the bottom of each window. I clipped off the decorative edge of two of the windows in each set, as well as the bottom edges of the other two. That way, they would fit snugly together.


I think I found these plastic bags at a thrift store a long time ago; I thought they would be perfect for protecting ATC cards; little did I know they would also be the perfect width for window panes in this project! All I had to do was cut them down to 4 inches long.


Then I used my Scortape to attach the windows together, as well as adhering the plastic to the back side of the windows.


I used Glossy Accents and fine fake snow (I had picked up from the Dollar Store months ago) to create frost in the windows and on the roofs.

After taping and gluing the windows to the bases I added some Buffalo snow inside and out, a battery tea light candle, a pine cone and holly for decoration. I had exactly seven wreaths and hung them from silver thread too.


I hope everyone enjoys this year's take-home Christmas craft... a tradition I love to continue!


Happy Christmas! Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season.

22 comments:

  1. Your lanterns are super cute! I bet they were a lot of fun to make. Merry Christmas! :-)

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    1. Ah, now that I am finished my last project, I can finally reply to all these kind comments! Thank you so much, they WERE fun to create! Hope you had a lovely Christmas!

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  2. You always amaze me with your projects. Well done with the lanterns! Happy holidays!

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    1. Thank you so much Laurie! Sorry I am late in replying... what a busy time. Happy New Year to you!

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  3. Beautiful lanterns Maureen. I'm sure every-one will be delighted with them. Thanks for your kind comments too. Have a wonderful celebration tomorrow. Karen.x

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    1. Thanks, I think everyone liked them! It was neat to see them all go to good homes ;)

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  4. Merry Christmas Maureen, what a wonderful project..how very clever and crafty you are..they look amazing!
    Keep warm..
    Xox
    Dgamar

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    1. Hope you had a lovely Christmas... and Happy New Year to you too! Thank you Dagmar! Keeping warm inside with -50 temps outside... yikes!

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  5. Your artistic talent just blows me away. Those are so beautiful!!!! I haven't found battery operated tea lights that throw enough light to be worth using but yours look nice and bright!

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    1. Aw, JoJo you are always too kind, thank you. These I found at Michael's... I am pleased they are brighter than I thought they would be! Happy New Year!

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  6. Maureen, these are stunning and so clever! I do not have a Cuttlebug and had know idea it could even cut chipboard. I think I need to investigate further. Do you have other cutters, too, like Cricut or does Cuttlebug do it all?

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    1. Thank you Kathy! You know who else liked them????

      A certain Mr Tim Holtz!!! Ha! He said that they were "wonderful!"

      I am so keeping that email forever... ;)

      Oh yeah, the Cuttlebug is great! I have a Cricut too; it is good for sizing dies just so... the Cuttlebug is perfect for a lot of dies and embossing folders too. I use it constantly!

      Happy New Year!

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  7. I love them. They are very nice. They look professionally made, like something you would buy,

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    1. Oh thank you Emily! That is quite the compliment :D!!!

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  8. How innovative! I don't have Tim Holtz lantern die either and now see that I can still make those wonderful lanterns everyone is doing, thanks to you! Wow! They really are beautiful and your diligence and hard work really paid off.....how great to come up with this and no expensive die! Yay! Thank you for sharing and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you! ;-)

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    1. Yeah, by the time I thought of this project, it was too late to order the die online, and no one around here carried it.

      Even Tim liked them (woot!)!

      Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

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  9. These are amazing and the battery operated lights were such a clever addition.

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    1. Thank you Betsy... I have seen many "lantern-type" holders around these battery-powered lights, but not designed like this exactly.

      I was very pumped to read that Tim himself even liked them!

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  10. Dear Maureen, thank you for your kind comment on my blog, and for your sweet wishes.
    Your lanterns are so beautiful,-I love what you created.
    I also wish you a beautiful and happy new year,-and all the best for you. Hugs,-Dorthe

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    1. Thank you so much Dorthe... you are so kind. I hope you had a lovely holiday and Happy New Year to you and yours!

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  11. Oh my-- how cute are those lanterns!! You win for most beautifully creative place setting decoration-- I love love love them!!

    Happy new year!!
    Vicki

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    1. Happy New Year to you and yours too Vicki! Thank you... so sweet of you to say.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you were by. I appreciate and read with delight each and every comment!

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