Impression Obsession Manger Luminaria

I love using papercrafting supplies to make 3 dimensional home décor items and what better time than Christmas to present friends and family with a 3D card.  The Impression Obsession Manger die is perfect for this.  The idea for this luminaria is based on one Dina Kowal, member of IO’s design team, made.  Here are the instructions for making this luminaria:

Cut the manger out twice from (fairly) heavy cardstock – I used chestnut woodgrain cardstock from American Crafts.

Cut a piece of heavyweight vellum and glue it to the front of one of the manger die cuts.  Note:  both mangers have to be “face” up because the die cut is not symentrical.

Die cut grass (I used My Favorite Things die) out of the same woodgrain cardstock.  Glue it along the bottom of the manger on top of the vellum.  Note: Apply glue just to the very bottom of the manger on top of the vellum because you will need to place Joseph and Mary under the grass and you don’t want the glue to interfere with placement.

Next glue the second manger die cut on top of the first one, sandwiching the vellum and grass between them.

Die cut Mary and Joseph twice from white cardstock.  Adhere one set (with foam tape) to the front manger, placing them under the grass.  Adhere the other set on the back using wet glue.  Be sure to check for identical alignment!  You can see in my photo I didn’t take my own advice!

Now that the manger scene is completed, make a base out of the same woodgrain cardstock cutting it to 2¾” X 10⅝”.  Score it at 3½” from each long end so that the middle section is 3⅝” wide.  Score the entire base at ¼”.

Next apply ¼” score tape to the middle section and ⅛” scor tape to the two end sections aligning the tape along the scored line.  I cut the top off the two end sections so that they were only ⅛” tall (the height of the tape).  This way they didn’t protrude past the manger’s sides when adhered on the back.

Remove the release paper on the middle section of the base and adhere the manger scene to the base being careful to place it so the side scor lines are the same on both sides.

At this point you can fold the two ends of the base in and mail the “card” in a 9” x 12” envelope (did you know this size envelope takes regular postage?).  I would place it between two pieces of chipboard so it won't be bent. If you choose to mail it with a flameless candle, it will fit nicely with the candle in a USPS Priority Mail small flat rate box.

Here are some photos and instructions for assembling the finished luminaria.

Remove white paper on sides of manger’s base to reveal a double sided tape

 

 

 

Edges of side panels are scored along the tape – fold them up

Side panels are also scored at frame’s edges -- fold them in to form base in shape of a flat “U”

Attach each taped edge of base to the back of each frame side

 

Set a flameless candle in the base.

 

The luminaria looks great during the day, but at night with all the lights out it really shines. 

The Manger die will be back in stock this week so please call me (915-833-9500) if you want me to reserve one for you!  Enjoy and have a wonderful Christmas season and a very happy new year.