Light Up the Neighborhood with Luminaries

For the basic luminaria you will need a small paper bag preferably some colored lunch size type bag (I usually go to our local gift wrapping store and they carry them for small gifts such as jewelry). Fill the bottom of the bag with something to weight it down, such as sand or inexpensive kitty litter will do. Then you will need the lighting source itself, (I prefer a little votive candle but now they have those battery type candles that flicker like real candles, the only draw back is they really don’t shine as brightly in my opinion).

Luminaries can be used to line your driveways or sidewalks for parties, etc. Luminaries can also have designs decorating the bags for a more fancy look. The bags can even be purchased now online already decorated for luminary usage and at gift stores they come in a variety of colors. It should be noted that as a precaution the bags should never be left unattended. If you live somewhere that is windy and dry, these bags always have the possibility of catching something on fire. However in that case it is best to use the candles with the batteries instead of real flame and then you won’t have to worry about anything.

Place a thin piece of paleTo make a cutout of your own design into the plain paper sack, place a piece of cardboard on the inside of the sack so that you won’t cut all the way through. Then with like an X-Acto knife simply cut around the design carefully in order to cut the design out of the bag. Then you want to attach on the inside a thin piece of soft lightly contrasting paper over the entire cutout from the inside so that when the luminary is lit the light will still be seen through the thinly colored contrasting paper. It really seems harder than it is, here is my example.

Bright Red Gift Sack (Lunch Type)
Snowman cutout pink copy paper on the inside of the bag behind the cutout and tape completely down on all sides into place.
Fill the sack with a weight such as sand or inexpensive kitty litter
Use a votive candle or battery realistic flickering candle if necessary.

Now you have made your first luminary and you only need to make about a million more, Right?

I am sure they will look great. If your interested in any of the websites where you can purchase pre-made luminary bags here are the links to their sites.

www.marlincandle.com/products.htm – This website has a slight drawback they sell Christmas luminary bags for purchase in bulk only, 200 bags is about 130 dollars comes with candles.

www.lumabase.com/categories/led-kits – This company has complete LED kits available for approximately 35.00 for a set of 12 in various patterns which is a great deal.

www.quickcandles.com/Luminary-Candles-s/220.htm – This place is great because it has luminaries for special occasions and 125 with candles runs approximately 30.00.

I think luminaries are great not only for decorations during parties and Christmas functions, but for your own enjoyment. I have a big porch/deck that is completely covered and I am going to decorate it this year with luminaries and clear lighting because I want it to light up the whole neighborhood with a soft glow.

Have fun making your luminaries and Merry Christmas!

References for this article include: Articlesbase.com and rubberstamping.about.com