Waltzingmouse 12 Days of Christmas

Hi there! I am pleased to be your hostess this morning for Day 2 of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Waltzingmouse Style!

Normally at this time we would be previewing new stamp sets for release. However, this month WMS is taking a break from releasing new stamps to allow us (all!) to enjoy the holidays with family and friends, as well as to focus on some fantastic things happening behind-the-scenes! It is all very exciting, and we appreciate your enthusiasm!

In lieu of a release this month, we are instead coming together to bring you some ideas and inspiration for holiday crafting (and beyond) which we are calling the Twelve Days of Christmas, Waltzingmouse Style! Each day will showcase a different Design Team member, so be sure to check the WMS Blog daily through December 17th for the links.

Today I have an easy holiday home decor project that packs a punch!

Aren't these paper pierced luminaries beautiful? They are easy, too - keep reading for a step-by-step tutorial.

For each luminary, you will need one sheet of cardstock, a needle or paper piercer, and your favorite WMS stamps.

Step 1. If desired, trim your cardstock to size. I used one full sheet of 8-1/2 by 11 cardstock for the red luminary. Changing the width of the cardstock on the 8-1/2 inch side will change the height of your luminary. I used a different width for each of mine so they would all sit at different heights.

Choose where you want to stamp your design. Using a pencil and ruler, lightly draw a line.

Step 2. Using your pencil line as a guide, stamp your pattern. I used Versamark ink, but you can use whatever ink you'd like. I used images from Santa Was Here, Festive Foliage, and Sewing Box - Christmas for my luminaries. Anything with a bold outline will work great.

Step 3. Using a paper piercer or needle, punch holes around your image to outline the shape. I would recommend using a piece of foam or a mousepad underneath to protect your work surface. I found it easy to punch a hole at each corner and then to fill in the rest - this seemed to help to keep things evenly spaced.

Step 4. Finish piercing your design and erase your pencil lines.

Step 5. To assemble your luminary, cut an additional piece of cardstock the width of your luminary (in this case, 8-1/2 inches). I used a strip approximately 1 inch wide. Apply strong adhesive (I used Scor-Tape) to this strip of cardstock.

Step 6. Remove adhesive liner and adhere the cardstock strip to one side of your luminary.

Step 7. Repeat on the other side, curving your cardstock into a tube shape as you go. This extra cardstock strip adds some stability to the junction of your cardstock as well as to give it a nice clean edge.

See, wasn't that easy? Here are all three of the luminaries I created so you can see the different images and the height differences.

Now all that is left to do is to add a candle, dim the lights, and enjoy!

I think these would be so pretty as a centerpiece lined up along your holiday dining room table! I hope you enjoyed this project - if you give it a shot, I would love for you to share!

Tomorrow, you'll want to head over to Lisa's blog for her project! Have a great day!

Anya