DIY Cardboard House Luminaries
/Easy DIY Luminaries
I’ve mentioned in the past that I have a bad habit of overcomplicating things. Well, not this time! I created these sweet little cardboard house luminaries in just a couple of hours (including time for the paint to dry). Let me show you how!
When I shared my mantel after I decorated it for Halloween, I mentioned that I didn’t have a lot of holiday decorations. Really, Christmas was the only holiday I decorated for in the past.
But after I decorated for Christmas this year and looked around, the house was looking a little… meh. To my surprise, I think I enjoyed decorating for Halloween and fall more than I realized, and now that I was decorating for Christmas I wanted more.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s a little late for Christmas decorations. But who says you have to take decorations down right after Christmas!? I might just leave these bad boys up through winter. Anywho…
Since our mantel is giant and seems to be the star of the show, especially because that’s where our stockings hang, I felt like that was the perfect place to really add a little somethin’ somethin’. But of course, being me, I didn’t want to drop a bunch of cash on decor when I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. Then I came across this image and my wheels began to turn:
Like many folks this time of year, I’ve definitely had an influx of cardboard boxes lying around. So why not put them to use and make some cheap and easy Christmas-inspired luminaries!?
While the tutorial from the source above shows you how to make actual little box houses, I wanted and needed something to span the length of the mantel so I left mine flat so it’s just like you’re looking at a row of houses head-on. Here’s how to make your own:
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Materials
- Cardboard
- Box Cutter
- Pen/Pencil
- Craft Paint
- Craft Brushes
- Lights
- Glitter Spray Paint (optional)
Draw Your Houses
First, cut your box so you have the length you want. Then, start drawing silhouettes of the front of different houses.
This is where I went really off the rails (for me) and didn't.even.use.a.ruler! (What!?) I really just wanted an easy, low-key, slightly whimsical project so I freehanded everything and didn’t mind if it wasn’t perfectly straight (or at all straight - check out that wonky door).
A couple important things to remember here:
Your houses all need to connect
You’ll be cutting all the shapes out with a box cutter in the next step so don’t torture yourself by making your designs super intricate
Cut Out Your Houses
Using a box cutter, cut out the silhouettes of the houses, and all the windows and doors. I put a cutting mat underneath mine as I cut, but if you don’t have one you could also use a scrap piece of cardboard to make sure you’re not scoring the surface underneath.
Paint
Naturally, white paint was my choice for these Christmas-inspired luminaries, but you can paint them any color you want. I picked up some cheap acrylic paint and craft brushes and applied two coats, letting them dry in between each coat.
Enjoy!
While the paint was drying, I strung Christmas lights along the top of my mantel. Happy accident - I picked up lights with white cords, which ended up being perfect for this project! 10/10 would recommend.
Then, I simply placed my houses in front of the lights and ta-da! Luminaries!
Actually, lefty over there kept tipping backward so he’s leaning against a tall glass. It’s clear, so it’s pretty unnoticeable. Except now I just told everyone. Whoops.
Bonus Step!
After I lived with my luminaries for a little while, I ended up coming across some glitter spray paint and figured I’d add a little sparkle to my luminaries - and I’m loving it!
Final Thoughts
While I may replace these down the road with some pretty, ceramic luminaries or other Christmas decorations, I’m actually loving these little houses right now! The extra glow they add to the living room is cheery and beautiful and the kids are enamored by them.
PLUS, I’d like to get at least one more use out of them for Halloween next year by painting the backside black and maybe putting some orange lights behind them. SpoooOOOOOooooky.
