Spellbinders ~ Stampendous Christmas Lantern

Hey crafty friends, I have a Christmas Paper Lantern creation to share with you today, made with a very beautiful diecut panel from Stampendous for Spellbinders featuring the Nativity Scene. I couldn't resist pairing this with one of my favourite Christmas carols for the reel over on Instagram, so if you follow that platform be sure to visit there for the reel showing all the sides with the lantern lit with a tealight candle.

I started with an A3 sheet of navy cardstock (that's UK/NZ sizing) so it's 11.7 x 16.5 inches. Which meant I could get all four sides out of the same piece of paper. I measured the die to ensure I had enough clearance either side of the largest die in the set. The lamp dimensions are 6.5 inches high and each panel is 4 inches wide. I scored along the long edge of the A3 panel at 4 inch intervals and then left a little tab at the very end to adhere the first and last panels together to complete the square. I needed to trim the tab edge a tiny bit so it didn't show where the vellum began, but this was simple to freehand trim. It was a very easy make once all the elements were created. I have decorated all four sides of this lamp, which I first photographed against a white background, but I played with backgrounds to see if there was a better backdrop to allow the lamp to really shine and in the end, the plainer blue background I think was the better choice, but I'll show the silver side on the white background and the tartan backdrop towards the end. Here is the silver panel lit and not lit.

I've decorated all four sides of the lamp with this same diecut nativity scene, but I did two in the dark navy blue cardstock from my stash that the lamp base is made from and the other two I did from silver cardstock. This silver cardstock is from the Spellbinders Make It Merry Collection Assorted Paper Pack. It's much more like a heavy foil than a paper cardstock. It's great to diecut and glues very well. Though to avoid any warping on my vellum from wet glue, I did use red line tape for all the adhesive on these pretty diecut panels. Some I trimmed down to fit on the narrow lines. 

I created a large alcohol ink panel which I cut down to line the aperture of each side. I diecut the main window frame with the arched die, glued in the vellum panels and then adhered the nativity scene over top. I created the alcohol ink panels with blending solution, Monsoon Alcohol Ink and Foundry Alloy from Ranger with Winter Lake Alcohol Ink from Altenew were the inks I used. I've not played with the Alloy much before and that was a trick to get it to spread, but could have been more difficult because it was on vellum. I was pretty happy with the finished look once the panels were in place though, so I'm glad I persevered.

I took a photo showing two of the sides together, but it doesn't show well, so I encourage you to look at the Instagram reel which shows all the sides of the lantern. I did quite like the look of this one with the Tartan backdrop so have included this one too. I wouldn't normally show so many different backgrounds, but the lamp looked quite different in each one, so excuse the eclectic selection of shots! I did finish each panel with a little gem from two different sets by This Calls For Confetti on each of the stars. I've swapped the first photo with a newer one, so the blue image I'm showing here with the tartan. You can pop these up for a closer look.

I took some more shots this morning of the lantern with some daylight behind. It shows the blues of the alcohol inks so much better than the other pics, so I've updated the first pic and added this last one for a better idea of the ink colours in those lovely 'stained glass window' panels. I hope you've enjoyed seeing this crafty lantern adventure.

Spellbinders is having a great sale right now, well worth checking out as there some really fabulous elements in it! I've linked the US site above, but you can easily click through to the UK site from there. There are some great deals and steals! I'll be back soon with another crafty adventure, until then have a beautiful and creative day, hugs, Wends xoxo

(I share thumbnails to the elements I design with in order to make your search for them easier, in case you like something I've used. I do use affiliate links where possible, which gives me a tiny commission but costs you no extra whatsoever. It helps the companies I design for to improve their marketing practice and track my contributions. I am deeply grateful if you use them for these reasons. I am proud to design for the companies I do and always feel happy to share where my inspiration and where my crafty stash comes from. I am occasionally gifted products to use, but I only design for companies whose products I absolutely love and buy for myself. My opinions are always my own.)

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